


Rebound

by LizzeXX



Series: The Academic Series [4]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: 10 Specials Rewrite, Action/Adventure, Aftermath of Torture, Best Friends, Bonding, Canon Divergence, Canon Rewrite, Drama, Embedded Images, Finally, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gallifrey, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Kata - Freeform, Keta, Keta share a brain, Keta wedding, Marriage, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Past Relationship(s), Recovery, Romance, The Academic Series, The Doctor loves her anyway, The Last Great Time War, The Professor is Healing, The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith, Theta/Kata, Time Travel, Weapon use, Wedding, doctor who - Freeform, past trauma, some violence, space travel, time lady - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-06-07
Packaged: 2019-05-09 00:02:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 57,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14705304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizzeXX/pseuds/LizzeXX
Summary: The loss of Donna and the gift of her humanity has broken through the soldier-like persona that had trapped the Professor, but she's not out of the woods yet. Will adventures with just her Bonded, the Doctor, help?10/OCTime Lady





	1. The Next Doctor

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome, welcome! This is the fourth story in the Academic Series featuring my OC the Professor, a revision of the 10th Doctor Specials! I would recommend reading the first three stories (Reunion, Recuperation, and Relapse) to get a better sense of who the Professor is and her history with the Doctor.
> 
> ~8~ is a scene break  
> ~/~\~ is a flashback  
> 'italics' is the Doctor/Professor speaking telepathically.
> 
> These chapters (the Academic Series in general) are set around the Doctor or Professor's point of view, which means scenes will be missing, any of those scenes that include references to the Doctor should be imagined to also include the Professor.
> 
> This incarnation of the Professor (her 10th) is a lean, blue eyed, blonde woman, hair in a ponytail, who typically wears a gray/blue thin strap tank top, knee length black cargo pants, black shoes, and black fingerless gloves, along with a familiar sonic blaster in a holster around her waist.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who...if I did, I'd have a jacket with pockets bigger on the inside too...

The TARDIS materialized under a bridge in the snow. The Professor peeking out of it as per the norm to make sure it was safe before stepping out, seeing no danger.

She'd lost the fingerless gloves she used to wear, but kept her blaster and its holster, though added a thin grayish-blue hooded jacket made of a thin sweater-like material. Her bracelet, the one the Doctor had given her for her 100th birthday, was visible on her wrist once more, having been hidden under the fingerless gloves to keep it safe. There was a new addition in terms of jewelry as well. The Doctor seemed to have realized he'd never properly given her an engagement ring when he saw her bracelet visible again and disappeared off somewhere in the TARDIS, only to come back with a little golden band with a small, simple, familiar diamond on the top, a Whitepoint Star, which could only be found on Gallifrey. He'd apparently kept a few more keepsakes from their planet than just their things and had taken the small stone and the metal ring to an Earth jeweler's to be fitted into an engagement band in 1969, when both she and Martha had been at their jobs. He'd forgotten about it since then, what with going to Utopia and dealing with the Master and then her regeneration...she hadn't been one for displaying jewelry.

But now, she wore it proudly.

She held the door open, allowing the Doctor to step out after her. He looked around with a smile, seeing freshly fallen snow, before they headed out under the bridge and into a busy market area. The people, dressed in period clothing, were milling around, buying things from the garland and ribbon decorated stalls.

"You there, boy!" the Doctor called, spotting a boy a few feet away, "What day is this?"

"Christmas Eve, sir."

"What year?"

"You thick or something?"

"Oi, just answer the question."

"Year of our Lord 1851, sir."

"Right. Nice year. Bit dull," the Professor shook her head at him, "What?"

"You  _do_  know that I'm here yes? I can tell you the time and day just as well."

He grinned, still so happy that she was back to herself, to a point. He'd noticed that she was far more open around him than with others, when strangers came into play, she was just as cautious as she had been before being dosed with Donna's humanity, "Oh I know, just thought I'd give you a break."

She rolled her eyes at him and looked around, smiling softly, "I love Earth at Christmas time."

He nodded, "That always was your favorite Earth holiday," he remarked, gazing at her a moment, "I don't actually know why that is."

There was a pink tint to her cheeks, "A very special little boy gave me my first ever gift for Christmas," she answered quietly, "I suppose it always stuck with me."

He blinked and smiled softly at her.

~/~\~

_"There you are!" he cheered loudly, making her jump. She always did that whenever he'd find her hidden away in different areas of the library. She'd get so caught up in her books that she'd be oblivious to the world till he literally shouted out at her._

_He had to admit though, the little start she always gave was rather cute, and the smile she always graced him with when she saw it was him always made his day, like now._

_"Hello," she greeted him quietly, always aware that they were in a library, always trying to respect the rules. A habit he was determined to break her of._

_"Merry Christmas!" he plopped down before her, a blue box in his hands with a bright white bow._

_She blinked, frowning a moment, and he knew she was going over everything she'd learned, trying to remember where she'd heard the phrase before, "Oh!" she got it, "The Earth holiday?"_

_He nodded, beaming, practically buzzing with excitement to give her the gift he'd made, "The Earthlings tend to give gifts on Christmas," he reminded her, holding up the box, "I got you something!"_

_She stared at the box a moment, wide eyed, before slowly reaching out and taking it from him. She set it down in her lap, the box just about coming up to her chin when she looked at him, "But…I didn't get you…"_

_He waved her off, "That's alright, I wanted to surprise YOU."_

_She blinked, he was always trying to do that. She smiled softly and looked at the box._

_He waited a few more moments but she didn't move, "Open it," he urged her. He could not wait till she opened that box. He really hoped she'd like his gift._

_She gave him a soft laugh and started to slowly undo the paper he'd wrapped the gift in, agonizingly slowly if he had to describe it. He was about to tell her to just rip it off when he noticed something…_

_There was a shininess in her eyes, a care, a…reverence almost. It was as though this were a moment she never ever wanted to forget, an important moment, and he felt his hearts constrict._

_She'd never gotten a gift before._

_He'd bet his entire stock of the Earth Jelly Babies he had stashed away in his room that he was right._

_And it was so wrong._

_Typically, since their people lived so long, it made little sense to celebrate the day they were born every year. Stepping stone ages were celebrated. Their 8th year when they entered the Academy was celebrated with gifts, then their 50th, their first triple digit 100, their Naming year 125, when they were halfway through their schooling at 200, and then when they graduated at 400. After that they would usually celebrate every 100 years, with very big celebrations whenever they added another 0._

_He knew from what little he'd gotten her to speak of from before she entered the Academy that her mother had been away on a research assignment when she was to start at the Academy. She never mentioned her father and when he brought it up she would shut down entirely. It was very, very likely that this was the first gift anyone had ever given her. Now, he REALLY hoped she liked it._

_He shook himself out of his thoughts when he heard her gasp. He looked up to see that she had unwrapped the box and taken the top off it, pulling a small, furry object out._

_"It's called a Teddy Bear on Earth," he told her, watching as she examined the stuffed animal he'd spent months making for her, a rather good rendition of a yellow teddy if he said so himself, he'd even given it a little personalization in the form of brown button eyes and a blue bow tie!_

_She nodded to herself, recalling having read a bit about the playthings of Earth children, but to see one…to have one…it was very cute and very soft, "Thank you," she breathed, truly touched that he'd clearly put so much time and effort into making her such a gift._

_"This one's special though," he continued, "This one's magic."_

_She looked up at him, her eyes wide with the awe only an 8 year old could have, "Magic?"_

_He nodded, grinning widely, "This bear can tell me when you need me," he explained, scooting closer to sit beside her, "All you have to do is hug it and call for me, and I'll hear you. I'll find you," he wasn't about to tell her that there was a little chip in the bear's belly that would set off a blinking light in his room and on the small watch he always wore whenever she called for him, no, he wouldn't ruin the magic of it all. He knew she needed magic in her life more than anyone, something he was determined to provide, "Whenever you need me, you just call."_

_She blinked quite a few times, tears in her eyes as she looked at the bear and then at him, "Thank you," she whispered, before leaning over and kissing him on the cheek quickly. She scurried to her feet and dashed off, her cheeks pink, wanting to get the bear back to her rooms so she'd know it'd be safe._

_As he watched her go, wide eyed, mouth open, in shock of her actions. He slowly raised his hand to his cheek, right where she'd kissed him, and smiled._

~/~\~

He should have known he loved her. He  _really_  should have. What 10 year old boy gets kissed by a girl and doesn't run off screaming 'cooties' or some other such germ?

He opened his mouth to speak when suddenly, someone a fair distance away shouted, "Doctor!"

He looked around as did the Professor.

"Doctor!" the woman shouted again.

"Who, me?" he frowned.

"It's coming from this direction," the Professor grabbed his hand and ran off, following the sound of the shouting through the alleys till they reached a black woman nervously backing away from a pair of large bolted doors.

"Doctor!" she shouted.

"Don't worry, don't worry," the Doctor ran up, "Stand back, what have we got here? Ooh," a growling sounded from behind the doors as something threw itself against it, the Professor's eyes narrowed as she listened closely to the sounds, "Ok, we've got it. Whatever's behind that door, I think you should get out of here."

"Doctor!"

"No," he frowned, "I'm standing right here. Hello."

"Don't be so stupid, who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor."

"Doctor who?"

"Just…the Doctor."

"Well, there can't be two of ya," she remarked just as another man in period clothes ran over, "Where the hell have you been?"

"Don't worry," he smiled, "Stand back. What have we got here, then?"

"Hold on, hold on," the Doctor cut in, "Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor. Simply the Doctor. The one, the only, and the best. Rosita, give me the sonic screwdriver.

The black woman handed him something quickly.

"What?" the Doctor shook his head.

"Now quickly, get back to the TARDIS."

"Back to the what?"

"Stand back, sir, ma'am. This is a job for a Time Lord."

"Job for a what Lord?" the doors burst open and a creature with a shaggy, furry body and a metal Cyberman-like face appeared, "Oh, that's different," he reached into his pocket.

"Oh, that's new…" the man agreed.

They both aimed their sonics at it with a cry of, "Allons-y!" before glancing at each other.

"I've been hunting this beast for a good fortnight," the Other Doctor told them, "Now step back, sir, ma'am."

The creature leapt over them and clung to the wall of the building behind them, "Some sort of primitive conversion, like they took the brain of a cat or a dog..." the Doctor muttered.

"It's a Cybershade," the Professor identified quietly.

"Well, talking's all very well," the Other Doctor remarked, "Rosita."

"I'm ready," Rosita handed him a length of rope which he swung over his head like a lasso.

"Now, watch and learn!" he released the rope and it caught the Shade, "Excellent. Now then, let's pull this timorous beastie down to Earth."

The Shade, however, scaled the wall, taking the Other Doctor with him.

"Or not," the Professor remarked.

"I might be in a little bit of trouble," the Other Doctor admitted.

"Nothing new there."

The Doctor reached out and grabbed the rope, "I've got you…" only to be pulled up the building as well.

"You idiots!" Rosita shouted.

"Perhaps if you could pull?" the Other Doctor called.

"I  _am_  pulling," he replied, "In this position, I couldn't not pull, could I?"

The Shade jumped into a window. The Professor shook her head, glancing around before spotting a set of steps leading up the side of the building the Shade had entered, running for them, leaving the men to argue amongst themselves.

"Then I'd suggest you let go, sir," the Other Doctor called.

"I'm not letting you out of my sight, Doctor. Don't you recognize me?"

"No, should I? Have we met? This is hardly the right time for me to go through my social calendar."

The Shade started to run, pulling them up and into a room on the top of a warehouse, dashing across the floor, dragging them.

"It's gonna jump!" the Doctor shouted, spotting the window the Shade was headed for.

"We're gonna fall!" the Other Doctor agreed.

Just as they neared the window a small flash of light collided with the rope, breaking it. The Doctors tumbled around due to the sudden stop, slowly standing, groaning, before laughing and hugging each other. The Doctor looked over to see the Professor putting her blaster back in her holster as Rosita ran up the steps and over to her Doctor.

"Nice shot," he murmured, walking over to her.

"Always was a better shot than you," she remarked with a little smile.

~8~

As the four of them walked down the stairs of the warehouse, back to the alley, the Doctors were still laughing.

"Well, I'm glad you think it's so funny," Rosita glared at the men, "You're mad. Both of you. You could've got killed."

"But, evidently, we did not," the Other Doctor replied, "Oh, I should introduce Rosita. My faithful Companion, always telling me off."

"Well, they do, don't they?" the Doctor grinned, "Rosita? Good name. Hello, Rosita."

"Huh," Rosita harrumphed, "Now I'll have to go and dismantle the traps. All that for nothing. And we've only got twenty minutes till the funeral, don't forget," she turned to walk away, "Then back to the TARDIS, right?"

"Funeral?"

"Oh, long story," the Other Doctor waved him off, "Not my own, not yet," he bent over, stretching, "Ooh, I'm not as young as I was."

"Well, not as young as you were when you were me."

"When I was who?"

"You really don't recognize me?" the Doctor frowned, gesturing between himself and the Professor, "Either of us?"

"Not at all."

"But you're the Doctor. The Next Doctor. Or the next-but-one. A future Doctor anyway."

"Oh!"

"No, no, don't tell me how it happened. Although...I hope I don't just trip over a brick, that'd be embarrassing. Then again, painless. Worse ways to go, depends on the brick."

"You're gabbling, sir. Now, might I ask, who are you, exactly?"

"No, I'm, uh...I'm just Smith. John Smith. And this is Katherine Stewart, my fiancé," he couldn't help but grin at the word as the Professor shook the Other Doctor's hand. He hadn't gotten to say that often before, "But I've heard all about you, Doctor. Bit of a legend, if I say so myself."

"Modesty forbids me to agree with you, sir. But yes. Yes, I am."

"A legend with certain memories missing," the Professor remarked.

"How do you know that?" the Other Doctor looked at her, startled.

"You've forgotten us," the Doctor replied, "Tell me…if I were to say 'the Professor…'"

"How do you know of her?" he gasped.

"Who is she?" the Professor asked him cautiously.

"She was my best friend. My beloved…but…she's gone now…"

The Doctor tensed and took the Professor's hand, "How?"

"I can't remember," he sighed, "Great swathes of my life have been stolen away. When I turn my mind to the past, there's nothing, simply heartache..."

"Going how far back?" the Professor asked.

"Since the Cybermen. Masters of that hellish wall-scuttler and old enemies of mine, now at work in London Town. You won't believe this, but they are creatures from another world."

"Really?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow, "Wow…"

"It's said they fell onto London, out of the sky in a blaze of light. And they found me…" he looked into the distance, remembering, "Something was taken. And something was lost…" he looked up at the Doctor and Professor, "What was I like? In the past?"

"I don't think we should say. Sorry. Got to be careful with memory loss. One wrong word..."

"It's strange, though. I talk of Cybermen from the stars and you don't blink, Mr. Smith nor you Miss Stewart."

"Ah, don't blink, remember that? Whatever you do, don't blink? The blinking and the statues? Sally and the Angels? No?"

"You're a very odd man."

"Hmm, I still am. Something's wrong here."

"Oh, the funeral! The funeral's at two o'clock. It's been a pleasure, Mr. Smith, Miss Stewart. Don't breathe a word of it."

"Can't we come with you?"

"It's far dangerous. Rest assured, I shall keep this city safe. Oh, and, er...merry Christmas, Mr. Smith, Miss Stewart," he waved at them before disappearing around the corner.

"Merry Christmas, Doctor," he muttered.

"He's not you," the Professor stated.

"How do you know?"

"His DNA is human," she held up her hand, "I can't hear him in my mind. And you shook his hand as well, that would cause a paradox, Chameleon Arch in use or not, and yet nothing happened."

He nodded, eyeing the corner before turning to her, "What should we do now?'

"I suppose we should follow him to the funeral, keep an eye on him," she looked over to see him grinning at her widely, "What?"

"You took my hand before."

"And?"

"You haven't done that lately, when we would run. Tactical disadvantage and all…"

She paused, considering her words, while ever since the incident with Donna she  _had_  become more open, she did have difficulty expressing very deep emotions, even to him, "Holding your hand…would  _never_  be a tactical disadvantage."

He beamed at her, kissing her quickly before pulling her down the street.

~8~

They watched as the Other Doctor and Rosita surveyed the funeral procession from behind a few crates, close enough to hear them but not be seen.

"The late Reverend Fairchild, leaving his place of residence for the last time," the Other Doctor said, "God rest his soul. Now, with the house empty, I shall affect an entrance at the rear while you go back to the TARDIS. This is hardly work for a woman."

"Oh, don't mind me or that other girl saving your life," Rosita rolled her eyes, "That's work for a woman, isn't it?"

"The Doctor's Companion does what the Doctor says. Off you go."

They watched as the duo parted ways and followed the Other Doctor off.

~8~

The Doctor threw open the back door to the reverend's home to see the Other Doctor trying to pick the lock.

"Hello!" he grinned.

"How did you get in?" the Other Doctor looked at them.

"Front door approach," the Professor replied.

The Doctor nodded, "I'm good at doors. She's better," he gestured to the Professor, "Um, do you mind my asking, is that your sonic screwdriver?"

"Yeah," he held up a regular screwdriver, "I'd be lost without it."

"But, that's a screwdriver. How's it sonic?"

"Well, er, it makes a noise," he tapped it against the doorframe, "That's sonic, isn't it? Now, since we're acting like common burglars, I suggest we get out of plain view," he entered the house and the Professor closed the door behind him. They exchanged a glance before following the Other Doctor down the hall and into a library, watching as he headed straight for the desk in the middle of the room and began to search the drawers.

"This investigation of yours, what's it about?" the Doctor asked after a moment.

"It started with a murder."

"Oh, good. I mean bad, but whose?"

"Mr. Jackson Lake, a teacher of mathematics from Sussex. He came to London three weeks ago and died a terrible death."

"Cybermen?" the Professor frowned.

"It's hard to say, his body was never found. But then it started. More secret murders. Then abductions. Children…stolen away in silence."

"So whose house is this?" the Doctor looked around.

"The latest murder," he moved to a book rack, "The Reverend Aubrey Fairchild. Found with burns to his forehead, like some advanced form of electrocution."

"But who was he, was he important?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

"We're your Companions."

"The reverend was the pillar of the community, a member of many parish boards. A keen advocate of children's charities."

"Children again…"

"Why would the Cybermen want him dead?" the Professor wondered, her eyes narrowed in thought, "And what's his connection to the first of Jackson Lake?"

"It's funny," the Other Doctor looked at them, "I seem to be telling you everything. As though you engendered some sort of...trust. You seem familiar. I know your face," he glanced at the Doctor, "But how?"

"I wonder," the Doctor glanced down, "I can't help noticing you're wearing a fob watch."

"Is that important?"

"Legend has it that the memories of a Time Lord can be contained within a watch," the Professor stated, glancing at it as well.

"Do you mind?" the Doctor held out a hand, wanting to be sure the Chameleon Arch wasn't involved, and the Other Doctor handed him the watch, "It's said that if it's opened..." he opened the watch and all the workings fell to the floor, "Oh. Maybe not."

"It's more for decoration…" the Other Doctor remarked.

"Yeah. Anyway, alien infiltration."

They broke apart, turning to search the room, "Look for anything different, possibly metal. Anything that doesn't seem to belong, perhaps a mechanical device that could fit no Earthly engine," the Other Doctor called as the Doctor pulled out the sonic and scanned the area, moving over to a locked desk, "It could even seem to be organic, but unlike any organism of the natural world. Shh! What's that noise?"

The Doctor tossed the sonic to the Professor who hid it behind her back as they spun to face him, "Oh, it's just me...whistling…" he made a whistling impression of the sonic, "I wonder what's in here, though…" he pointed at the scroll top desk he'd opened, "Ah…" he pulled out a metal cylinder and handed it to the Professor to examine, "Different and metal, you were right."

"Infostamp," she assessed.

"At a guess," the Doctor cut in.

The Professor nodded, following along, "I would  _guess_  they worked something like this…" she pressed one end and held it out towards the wall where images were projected rapidly on it. She nodded, "Compressed information."

"Tons of it," he put on his specs, "That is the history of London…"

"1066 to the present day," the Professor agreed, vaguely realizing that this was the first time in a long while that she and the Doctor had alternated narrative, she hadn't exactly been one for speaking much before.

"This is like a disk," he took the stamp from her and frowned, "A Cyberdisk. But why would the Cybermen need something so simple?"

The Other Doctor fell into a chair at the sight of the stamp, a pained look on his face.

"They've got to be wireless," he continued.

"But they're in the wrong century, they haven't got much power," the Professor countered, "They  _would_  need plain infostamps to update themselves."

The Doctor glanced over to see the Other Doctor's plight, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he waved them off.

"No, what is it?" he moved to sit across from him, the Professor standing behind him, "What's wrong?"

"I've seen one of these before. I was holding...this device," he reached out and took it from the Doctor, "The night I lost my mind. The night I regenerated. The Cybermen, they made me change. My mind, my face, my whole self. And you were there. Who are you?"

"Friends. I swear."

"Then I beg you, John, Katherine. Help me."

"Ah. Two words I never refuse," he grinned, standing, "But it's not a conversation for a dead man's house. It'll make more sense if we go back to the TARDIS...your TARDIS. Hold on, I just need to do a final check. Won't take a tick," he moved around the room, opening doors, "There's one more thing I cannot figure. If this room's got infostamps, then maybe, just maybe, it's got something that needs infostamping…" he opened a door and saw a Cyberman behind it, "Ok!" he closed it and spun around, "I think we should run."

"Already on it," the Professor called, already hefting the Other Doctor to his feet just as a Cyber shoved through the door.

"Run, Doctor! Now, Doctor!" he ran over, helping her push him out of the library.

"Delete!" the Cyberman cried.

They ran down the hall towards the front door when a second Cyberman blocked their way, "The Doctor will be deleted."

They turned and ran back, only for the first Cyber to break though a door, "Delete!"

"Stairs!" the Professor called, ushering the Other Doctor towards it.

"Can't lead them outside," the Doctor agreed, looking around, trying to find something to use as a weapon while the Professor grabbed her blaster. He opened an umbrella when he spotted a sword on the wall.

"Delete!"

He flourished it, "I'm a dab hand with a cutlass. You don't want to come near me when I've got one of these. This is your last warning. No?" the Cybers continued to advance, "Ok, this is  _really_  your last warning! Ok, I give up!"

"Delete!"

"Give me that!" the Professor grabbed the cutlass from his hand and fired at a Cyberman, forcing it back a moment. The other one advanced, swinging at her but she expertly used the cutlass to block it.

"Listen to me properly!" the Doctor called as they were forced up the stairs, "Whatever you're doing stuck in 1851, we can help! We're the only people in the world who can help you! Listen to us!"

"Delete!"

"Not helping!" the Professor shouted, blasting the Cyber back a bit.

"I'm the Doctor," he tried, "You need me. Check your memory banks, my name's the Doctor. Leave this man alone! The Doctor is me!"

The Professor kicked a Cyberman in the chest, knocking him back, and grabbed the Doctor's arm to drag him farther up the stairs.

"Delete!"

"The Doctor, remember?" he tried again, "I'm the Doctor! She's the Professor! You need us alive! You need the Doctor, and that's me!"

The Professor turned and stabbed forward, angling the sword to cut through the Cyber's chest. It fell backwards down the stairs, the second one stepping to the side to avoid it.

"Delete!"

Suddenly a beam of energy shot out over them and struck the remaining Cyberman, causing it to fall to its knees, the head exploding. They spun around to see the Other Doctor standing there, panting, holding the stamp out before him.

"Infostamp with a cyclo-steinham core," the Professor eyed it, "You ripped open the core and broke the safety,"

"Zap!" the Doctor chuckled, "Only the Doctor would think of that. But then again," he beamed at the Professor, "The Professor would probably think of it first, being the faster thinker and all."

She gave a small smile at that.

"I did that...last time," the Other Doctor frowned.

The Doctor walked over to him, "Come here, you'll be ok. Let me just check…" he pulled out his stethoscope.

"You told them you were the Doctor and that she was the Professor. Why did you do that?"

"Oh, we were just protecting you," he listened to the man's chest.

"You're trying to take away the only thing I've got, like they did. They stole something, something so precious. But I can't remember. What happened to me? What did they do?"

"We'll find out. You and me and her, together."

~8~

"Doctor!" Rosita shouted that night as she ran over and hugged the Other Doctor as he led them to his base, "I thought you were dead!"

"Now then, Rosita," the Other Doctor pulled away, "A little decorum."

"You've been gone for so long. He's always doing this, leaving me behind. Going frantic."

"What about the TARDIS?"

"Oh, she's ready. Come on," she took his arm and led him away.

"I'm looking forward to this," the Doctor muttered, following them into the building which turned out to be a set of stables, loaded with cases scattered around, clothes everywhere.

"You were right though, Rosita," the Other Doctor was saying, "The Reverend Fairchild's death was the work of the Cybermen."

"So, you live here?" the Doctor looked around.

"A temporary base, until we rout the enemy. The TARDIS is magnificent, but it's hardly a home," he stepped into a stall and washed his face in a basin of water.

"And where is the TARDIS now?" the Professor frowned.

"In the yard."

"Er...what's all this luggage?" the Doctor asked.

"Evidence. The property of Jackson Lake, the first man to be murdered. Oh, but my new friends are fighters, Rosita, much like myself. Miss Stewart even faced the Cybermen with a cutlass! I'm not ashamed to say, she was braver than I," the Professor tossed the Doctor the sonic back, sensing him wanting to look around, and he flashed it, "She was quite brilliant…are you whistling again?"

"Yes," the Doctor spun around, "Yes, I am, yeah. Yeah," he winked at Rosita who had seen him, making a 'shh' motion, before opening one of the trunks.

"That's another man's property!" Rosita called.

"A dead man's," the Professor corrected, noting she was still more than a bit blunt at times before moving to search the trunk.

The Doctor watched her a moment before glancing at Rosita, "How did you two meet, then?"

"He saved my life," Rosita smiled, "Late one night, by the Osterman's Wharf, this...creature came out of the shadows. A man made of metal. I thought I was gonna die. And then, there he was. The Doctor. Can you help him, sir? He has such terrible dreams. Wakes at night in such a state of terror."

"Come now, Rosita," the Other Doctor tried to wave her off, "With all the things a Time Lord has seen, everything he's lost, he may surely have bad dreams."

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded when the Professor held up another stamp, "Oh, now, look. Jackson Lake had an infostamp."

"But how? Is that significant?"

"Doctor, the answer to all this is in your TARDIS. Could we see it?"

"Mr. Smith, Miss Stewart, it would be my honor," he turned and led them through the back of the stables and out into a small yard where a hot air balloon was tethered to the ground, a young man beside it, "There she is! My transport through time and space. The TARDIS."

"You've got a balloon…" he blinked.

"TARDIS. T-A-R-D-I-S. It stands for Tethered Aerial Release Developed in Style. D'you see?"

"Well, I do now. I like it. Good TARDIS. Brilliant. Nice one," he stepped forward with the Professor to inspect it.

She sniffed, "It's inflated by gas."

"We're adjacent to the Mutton Street Gasworks," the Other Doctor nodded, "I pay them a modest fee. Good work, Jed," he clapped the young man's shoulder.

"Glad to be of service, sir, "Jed grinned, taking a bill from the Other Doctor as he paid him from a number stashed in his inner pocket.

"You've got quite a bit of money," the Doctor remarked.

"Oh, you get nothing for nothing," the Other Doctor smiled, "How's that ripped panel, Jed?"

"All repaired, should work a treat," he replied, "You never know, maybe tonight's the night, Doctor. Imagine it, seeing Christmas from above."

"Well, not just yet, I think. One day, I will ascend. One day soon."

"You've never actually been up?" the Doctor frowned.

"He dreams of leaving, but never does," Rosita told them.

"I can depart in the TARDIS once London is safe," the Other Doctor stated, "And finally, when I'm up there...think of it. The time and the space."

"The perfect escape," he nodded, taking the Professor's hand unconsciously, "Do you ever wonder what you're escaping from?"

"With every moment."

He glanced at the Professor who nodded and he turned back to the Other Doctor, "Then do you want us to tell you? 'Cos I think we've worked it out now. How you became the Doctor. What do you think? Do you want to know?"

~8~

The Doctor and Professor sat across from the Other Doctor and Rosita in the stables, glancing at each other before nodding.

"The story begins with the Cybermen," the Doctor started, "A long time away, and not so far from here, the Cybermen were fought and they were beaten, and they were sent into a howling wilderness called the Void, locked inside forevermore. But then a greater battle rose up, so great that everything inside the Void perished."

"As the walls of the world weakened," the Professor continued, knowing how hard it was for the Doctor to talk about that whole incident, "The last of the Cybermen must have fallen through the dimensions, back in time, to land here. And they found you."

"I fought them," the Other Doctor nodded, "I know that. But what happened?"

"At the same time, another man came to London," the Doctor added, "Mr. Jackson Lake. Plenty of luggage, money in his pocket. Maybe coming to town for the winter season, I don't know. But he found the Cybermen too. And just like you, exactly like you, he took hold of an infostamp."

"But he's dead. Jackson Lake is dead. The Cybermen murdered him."

"You said no body was ever found," the Professor reminded him, "And you kept all his suitcases, but you could never bring yourself to open them. The answer  _is_  in the fob watch. May I?" she held out her hand and he gave it to her, she simply flipped it over to reveal a monogram, "'J.L..' The watch is Jackson Lake's."

"Jackson Lake is...you, sir?" Rosita looked at the Other Doctor, stunned.

"But  _I'm_  the Doctor," Jackson insisted.

"You  _became_  the Doctor," the Professor stressed, "Because the infostamp you picked up was a book about one particular man," she pressed the infostamp they'd found in the luggage to play on the wall, showing all the Doctor's incarnations, "The Cybermen's database. Stolen from the Daleks inside the Void, but it is everything you could want to know about the Doctor."

"That's you," Jackson breathed, seeing the last incarnation sitting across from him.

"Time Lord, TARDIS, enemy of the Cybermen," he clicked his tongue, "The one and the only. You see? The infostamp must have backfired, streamed all that information about me right inside your head."

"I am nothing but a lie…"

"No, no, no, no, no. Infostamps are just facts and figures. All that bravery. Saving Rosita. Defending London Town. Hmm? And the invention, building a TARDIS. That's all you."

"And what else? Tell me what else?"

"There's still something missing, isn't there?"

"I demand you tell me. Tell me what they took."

"Sorry. Really, we are so sorry. But that's an awful lot of luggage for one man."

"An infostamp is plain technology," the Professor spoke up, wanting to return to facts, not exactly comfortable yet with great deals of emotion from others just yet, "It is by no means enough to make a man lose his mind. What you suffered is called a 'fugue.' A fugue state, where the mind runs away because it can't bear to look back. You wanted to become someone else, because Jackson Lake had lost so much."

A bell tolled in the distance.

"Midnight," Rosita remarked, "Christmas Day."

"I remember..." Jackson gasped, "Oh, my God...the Professor...no..." he shook his head, "Caroline. They killed my wife," he began to cry, "They killed her…" Rosita put an arm around him, trying to comfort him.

The Professor looked down at the stamp in her hand as it started to beep. She got up and followed it to another trunk.

The Doctor opened it, "Oh..." and pulled out a belt of stamps, "You found a whole cache of infostamps."

"But what is it?" Rosita looked up at them, "What's that noise?"

"Activation," the Professor looked at him suddenly, "A call to arms. The Cybermen are moving out!"

They ran outside to see the shadows of Cybermen heading towards them. Moments later Rosita joined them as a parade of orphans walked by.

"What is it?" Rosita frowned, "What's happening?" she looked up to see an old man, face void of emotions, lights flashing on his ears, walking behind the children, "That's Mr. Cole. He's Master of the Hazel Street Workhouse. Maybe he's taking them to prayers."

"Oh, nothing as holy as that," the Doctor said before rushing over to Mr. Cole, "Can you hear me? Hello? No? Mr. Cole, you seem to have something in your ear. Now, this might hurt a bit, but if I can just..." he reached into his pocket for the sonic.

The Professor quickly grabbed his arm, stopping him, ' _Cybershade,_ ' she warned him silently. He looked over to see a Shade peeking around the corner, up the street, "They're on guard," she said out loud, "We can't risk a fight. Not with the children."

"But where are they going?" Rosita asked.

"All need a good whipping, if you ask me," Jed remarked, walking over to them, "There's tons of 'em. I've just seen another lot coming from the Ingleby Workhouse down Broadback Lane."

"Where's that?" the Doctor turned to Rosita.

"This way!" Rosita ran off, leading them through the streets till they spotted another group of children being led by another man, "There's dozens of 'em!"

"But what for?" the Doctor frowned.

They watched as the children stopped before a set of large, wooden double doors which opened as two Cybermen stepped forward and a few Shades ran out.

"You will continue," the old man ordered, "You will enter the Court of the Cyberking," one boy tried to run but a Shade herded him back, "March. That is an order. March!" the children continued on.

"That's the door to the sluice," Rosita whispered, "All the sewage runs through there, straight into the Thames."

The Professor frowned, eyeing the entrance, "It's too well guarded. We'll have to find another way in."

The Doctor nodded and they turned back, only to see two Cybermen behind them. The Professor quickly grabbed her blaster, holding it out as the Cybers lifted their arms, both ready and waiting for the other to fire.

"Whoa!" the Doctor called, his hands up, trying to distract the Cybers from attacking, "That's cheating, sneaking up! Did you have your legs on silent?"

Just then a woman in a red dress strolled up and stood in front of the Cybers, "So...what do we have here?"

"Just walk towards me, slowly. Don't let them touch you."

The Professor's frown deepened, reading the woman's body language…knowing she was not as 'in danger' as the Doctor thought, no, she was clearly in league with the men.

"Oh, but they wouldn't hurt me, my fine boys. They are my knights in shining armor. Quite literally."

"Even if they've converted you, that's not a Cyber speech pattern. You've still got freewill. Step away..."

"She's not converted," the Professor remarked.

The woman nodded, "No one's ever been able to change my mind. The Cybermen offered me the one thing I wanted…liberation."

"Who are you?" Rosita glared.

"You can be quiet. I doubt he paid you to talk. More importantly, who are you, with such intimate knowledge of my companions?"

"The Professor," she replied.

"And I'm the Doctor," he added.

"Incorrect," one of the Cybers stated, "You do not correspond to our image of the Doctor."

"Because your database has been corrupted," the Professor tossed them the damaged stamp, "Plug it in. Download it. See for yourself."

"The core has been damaged," the Cyber assessed, "This infostamp would damage Cyberunits."

"Oh, well," the Doctor shrugged at her, "Nice try."

The Cyber held the stamp out till it beeped, "Core repaired. Download," it stuck it in a slot in its chest and uploaded, "You are the Doctor."

"Hello!" he waved.

"You will be deleted."

The Professor tensed.

"Oh, but let me die happy!" the Doctor cut in, holding a hand up to the Professor, signaling for her to wait, "Tell me, what d'you need those children for?"

"What are children ever needed for?" the woman asked, "They're a workforce."

"But for what?"

"Very soon now, the whole Empire will see. And they will bow down, in worship."

"And it's all been timed for Christmas Day. Was that your idea, Miss..."

"Hartigan. And, yes, it's the perfect day for a birth, with a new message for the people. Only this time, it won't be the words of a man."

"The birth of what?"

"A birth and a death. Namely, yours. Thank you, Doctor. I'm glad to have been part of your very last conversation. Now, delete them."

"Delete!" the Cybers shouted .

The Professor aimed, about to fire, when a beam of energy hit the Cybers from behind. They fell to the ground, revealing Jackson with a belt of stamps behind them.

"At your service, Doctor, Professor," he grinned.

"Shades!" Hartigan called, "Shades!"

"Run!" the Doctor shouted, "Come on!"

"Shades!"

"One last thing," Rosita turned and punched Hartigan across the face, knocking her to the ground.

"Can I say, I completely disapprove!" the Doctor remarked.

"I don't," the Professor replied, grabbing Rosita's arm to pull her, "Come on!"

They ran off with Jackson, racing around corners and down streets, till they were far enough away to stop for a breather.

"That stronghold down by the river," the Professor turned to the humans, seemingly less out of breath than the others, "We need to find a way in."

"I'm ahead of you," Jackson nodded, "My wife and I  _were_  moving to London so I could take up a post at the university. And while my memory is still not intact, this was in the luggage," he pulled out legal documents, "The deeds, 15 Latimer Street. And if I discovered the Cybermen there, in the cellar, then..."

"That might be a way in!" the Doctor realized, "Brilliant!"

"But there's still more. I remember the cellar...and my wife. But I swear there was something else in that room…if we can find that, perhaps that's the key to defeating these invaders. So...onwards!" he turned and led them off.

"Maybe you should go back..." the Doctor turned to Rosita.

"Don't even try!" the woman shoved past him and after Jackson.

"No," he agreed as he and the Professor followed as well.

~8~

The group ran into the cellar of 15 Latimer Street to see a Cyberman standing there.

"Dele…"

Before it could even finish the Professor fired one blast straight through its eye hole, destroying the brain within it on her way down the steps into the cellar, towards a device set up in the middle of the floor, thoroughly shocking the humans with her precision.

"Must've been guarding this," the Doctor muttered as he joined her.

"A Dimension Vault," she assessed, "Stolen from the Daleks again," she looked up at him, "That's how the Cybermen travelled through time."

"Jackson, is this the thing you couldn't remember?" the Doctor glanced over at him.

"I don't think so," he shook his head, "I'm...I just can't see. It's like it's hidden."

"Yeah, not enough power. Come on! Avanti!"

They ran down the tunnel in the side of the room and proceeded cautiously along, Rosita and Jackson behind them, the Professor in the lead with her blaster out and ready.

"What do the Cybermen want?" Rosita asked.

"They want us," the Doctor replied, "That's what Cybermen are, human beings with their brains put into metal shells. They want every living thing to be like them."

They stopped short, peeking around a corner to see a workroom where the children were toiling away.

"Upon my soul," Jackson breathed.

"What is it?" Rosita frowned.

"It's an engine," the Professor squinted, taking in all the details of the mechanics, "They're generating electricity."

"But what for?" the Doctor wondered.

Jackson moved forward, "We can set them free!"

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no..." the Doctor turned and ran back the way they came, the Professor with him, both coming to the same conclusion at once. They found a panel in the wall, giving out readings on the power and progress.

"Power at 90 percent," the Professor read, "But if we stop the engine, the power dies down, the Cybermen will be alerted."

"Ooh," he tapped the reading, "Hold on. Power fluctuation. That's not meant to happen."

"It's going wrong?" Jackson asked.

"No, it's weird. The software's rewriting itself. It's changing," he jumped back a surge went through the system, "What the hell's happening? It's out of control!"

"It's accelerating. 96 percent, 97..."

"When it reaches 100, what about the children?" Rosita gasped.

"They're disposable," the Professor stated grimly, "Move!"

They ran back into the engine room to see the Cybermen marching towards the children, calling, "Delete! Delete!"

Jackson and Rosita fired infostamps, incapacitating them.

"Right," the Doctor shouted to the children, "Now! All of you, out! D'you hear me? That's an order! Every single one of you, run!"

"All of you, come on!" Jackson ushered the children out as they ran for it, "As fast as you can, come on!"

"There's a hot pie for everyone, if you leg it!"

"Go!"

"Rosita," the Professor turned to her, "Get them out of the sluice gate and once you're out, keep running, far as you can."

Rosita nodded and ran after the children, "Turn right at the corner! Fast as you can, and don't stop! Keep running, keep running!"

"Go!" the Doctor called as the last of the children ran out, "Quick, quick," he looked over at the Professor who was checking a gauge just inside the door.

"It's some sort of starter motor…" she muttered.

"That's my son..." they heard Jackson breathe, they looked over to see him staring at a little boy, standing, scared, on the scaffolding, "My son. Doctor, Professor, my son!"

They ran over, "What?"

"They took my son. No wonder my mind escaped! Those damned Cybermen, they took my child. But he's alive! Frederic!"

"Come on!" the Doctor ushered Frederic to jump.

"No, he's too scared. Stay there! Don't move! I'm coming," he headed for the stairs but a large explosion forced him back, blocking the route. The Professor ran over and helped him to his feet, "I can't get up there. Fred!"

"They've finished with the motor," she called over to the Doctor, "It's going to blow."

"What are we going to do? What are we going to do?"

"Come on, Jackson," the Doctor pulled out the cutlass he'd put in his pocket in the reverend's house and grabbed a rope hanging by the scaffolding, "You know me," he cut the rope and a weight fell down on the other end, lifting him up to Frederic, "Oh, that's it," he smiled at the boy, "Hello! Now, hold on tight. Don't let go," Frederic climbed onto his back and the Doctor swung off the platform and down to Jackson, "Merry Christmas!" he handed his son over.

~8~

They emerged in the cellar of the house once more, Jackson with his son first and then the Professor and the Doctor, "Head for the street," she ordered, turning to the device, taking a scepter-like object out of it.

"Come on!" Jackson called, "Hurry up!"

They ran after him.

~8~

"It's a Cyberking," the Doctor gasped as they came to a stop on a street by the river, only to see a large, robotic creature walking through London.

"And a Cyberking is what?" Jackson frowned.

"It's a Dreadnought class ship," the Professor stated, "The front line of an invasion. Inside the chest is a Cyberfactory ready to convert millions."

They watched in horror as it walked through London, causing chaos, people running, screaming, from it.

"Take him south, go to the parkland," the Doctor told Jackson.

"But where are you going?" he asked them.

"To stop that thing."

"I should be with you!"

"Jackson, you've got your son. You've got a reason to live."

"And you haven't?" he frowned.

"We live for each other," the Professor replied, nearly startling the Doctor with that proclamation, seeing her so unlike how she was before would take some getting used to, "But we also stand by each other and fight for others. We have to go."

He nodded, "God save you both."

They turned and ran off down the streets, heading right for the stables. They started rummaging thought the trunks, the Professor setting down the scepter to help when Jed walked in, "What the hell is that thing?" he asked, looking at the scepter.

"Oh, good man," the Doctor glanced up, "Jed, wasn't it? Jed, we need your help!" he pulled out another strand of stamps.

"I'm not going out there!" Jed shook his head.

"I'll give you five pound notes!"

"Um...alright. What d'you want me to do?"

"The TARDIS is gonna fly!"

The Professor grabbed the scepter and ran out with the Doctor, into the stable yard, tossing it and the stamps into the basket of the balloon as Jed shook his head at them, "You're flamin' bonkers!" he shouted as they hopped in.

"It's been said before!" he looked at the Professor as she picked up the scepter again.

"Not enough power yet," she shook her head.

"Jed!" he turned to the man, "Let her loose!"

Jed ran around to the ropes securing the balloon and began to let them go, "Ever flown one of these before?"

"Nope! Never!"

"Three," the Professor remarked, pulling the ropes inside.

"Three?" he looked at her questioningly, when had  _that_  happened?

"2,700 forms of transportation," she reminded him.

He just stared at her, "The Time Lords thought you'd need to learn how to fly a hot air balloon?"

"You would not believe the things they wanted to prepare us for," she muttered, examining the strand of stamps.

"Can I have my money now?" Jed eyed them warily, very confused and wondering about their mental health.

"Oh, get on with it!" the Doctor snapped.

Jed quickly untied the last rope and the balloon began to rise, "God's luck to you!"

The Doctor and Professor began to throw sandbags down, lightening the load. Just as they reached the chest height of the Cyberking, it turned around to face them. The Professor tossed him the scepter while grabbing the stamps and twisting them around her fist, snatching the Doctor's sonic from his jacket to bind them all together, she was not about to let the Doctor have to do this.

"Excellent!" Hartigan cheered, her voice carrying to them from where she sat in a throne surrounded by Cybermen, a device on her head, her eyes black, "The Doctor and the Professor! Yet another man come to assert himself against me in the night."

"Miss Hartigan, we're offering you a choice," the Doctor called, "You might have the most remarkable mind this world has ever seen. Strong enough to control the Cybermen themselves!"

"I don't need you to sanction me."

"No, but such a mind deserves to live, to be free!" he called, "Believe me," he glanced at the Professor, "I know," and back, "The Cybermen came to this world using a Dimension Vault. We can use that device to find you a home. With no people to convert. But a new world where you can live out your mechanical life in peace."

"I have the world below and it is abundant with so many minds, ready to become extensions of me. Why would I leave this place?"

"Because if you don't," the Professor finished and looked up, "I'll have to stop you."

"What do you make of me? An idiot?"

"No. The question is, what do you make of me?" she aimed the stamps at her.

"Destroy them!"

The Professor eyed her harshly, though the Doctor could see a sadness and regret in her eyes, "You make me into this," she fired the stamps at her, hitting the device on the woman's head, leaving her seemingly unharmed.

"Then I have made you a failure. Your weapons are useless!"

The Professor shook her head sadly, "I wasn't trying to kill you."

"All she did was break the Cyberconnection," the Doctor explained, "Leaving your mind open. Open, I think, for the first time in far too many years, so you can see. Just look at yourself. Look at what you've done. We're sorry, Miss Hartigan. But look at what you've become," Hartigan gasped, seeing what had happened to her, looking at the Cybermen, screaming at the sight, "We're so sorry."

Hartigan screamed more, the energy building, until it shot through her, destroying all the Cybers connected to her as well as herself. The Cyberking began to stagger, explosions exuding from its joints.

The Doctor looked down at the Dimension Vault, hearing it beep, "Oh.  _Now_  you're ready!"

He aimed the device and fired, sucking the King into it as it began to fall. A moment later, in the silence, they heard applause carry up to them. They looked down to see a crowd of people cheering and clapping for them.

He smiled a bit, startled, before waving down to them with the Professor. He laughed, turning to ring a little bell when he felt someone take his hand. He looked over to see the Professor smiling softly at him and grinned back before turning to look out at the city, just enjoying the sight and the company.

~8~

The trio walked through the market as the people tried to fix everything and get it in order once more.

"The City will recover, as London always does," Jackson said, "Though the events of today will be history, spoken of for centuries to come!"

"Yeah," the Doctor laughed, "Funny that."

"And a new history begins for me. I find myself a widower, but with my son and with a good friend," he looked over to see Rosita standing beside Frederic with Jed.

"Now, take care of that one. She's marvelous."

"Frederic will need a nursemaid and I can think of none better. But you're welcome to join us. We thought we might all dine together, at the Traveler's Halt…" the Doctor looked away but Jackson wouldn't relent, "A Christmas feast, in celebration and in memory of those we have lost. You won't stay?"

"Like I said, you know me," the Doctor smiled as they reached the TARDIS.

"No, I don't think anyone does, save the Professor," he remarked with a wink to the woman.

"Oi," the Doctor mock glared, "MY Professor."

Jackson laughed as the Professor nudged him, "Possessive?" she asked, making him laugh as well.

Jackson's eyes widened, spotting the TARDIS, "Oh! And this is it! Oh, if I might, Doctor? One last adventure?"

"Oh, be my guest," he unlocked the door.

"Oh..." Jackson stepped through excitedly, only to pause on the ramp, "Oh, my word. Oh…" he walked up to the console, looking around, "Oh, goodness me. But this is...but this is nonsense!"

"Well, that's one word for it!"

"Complete and utter, wonderful nonsense! How very, very silly! Oh, no. I can't bear it! Oh, it's causing my head to ache. No, no, no, no, no, no, no..." he ran out, utterly overcome, "Oh! Oh, gracious. That's quite enough," the Doctor and Professor stepped out, closing the door behind them, "I take it this is goodbye?"

"Onwards and upwards."

"Tell me one thing. All those facts and figures I saw of the Doctor's life, you were never alone. You had the Professor. And all those bright and shining companions! But...not anymore?"

"No."

"Might I ask, why not?"

The Doctor sighed, looking down, "They leave. Because they should, or they find someone else. And some of them…some of them forget me. I suppose, in the end…they break my hearts…"

The Professor looked at him sadly, taking his hand, "But I will ALWAYS be here to mend them," she whispered, leaning forward to kiss him gently, one of the few kisses she had initiated since her regeneration. He smiled as she pulled away, seeing the pink on her cheeks at being so open with him with someone else there.

Jackson smiled at them, "That offer of Christmas dinner, it's no longer a request, it's a demand."

The Professor turned her smile on him, "You know me as well Jackson?" she asked him, "From the stamp?"

"Quite a bit actually," he laughed.

"I find this regeneration is quite stubborn, wouldn't you agree Doctor?" she looked at him, he nodded as well, confused, "I don't quite think I'm ready to leave. We must not be rude, must we?"

The Doctor smiled, before turning to Jackson with a laugh, "Oh, go on then!"

"Really?" Jackson grinned.

"Just this once," he nodded, pointing a mock warning finger at the Professor, "You've actually gone and changed my mind."

"Don't I always?" she countered.

He looked at Jackson, "Not many people can do that you know."

"She is something special Doctor," he nodded.

The Doctor eyed him a moment, in thought, "Jackson, if anyone had to be the Doctor, I'm glad it was you."

"The feast awaits. Come with me! Walk this way."

"We certainly will!" the Doctor cheered as they turned and walked off after him, "Merry Christmas to you, Jackson."

"Merry Christmas, indeed, Doctor, Professor."

"A very merry one," the Professor agreed as they walked through the lightly falling snow.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've realized that I've been naming the stories along a pattern of RE(something) when I was thinking of a name for this story, I think I'd actually like to continue that :) I thought Rebound would be a good choice as this it relates to the Professor bouncing back from the setback her regeneration had caused her with the help of Donna's humanity. She's not quite 100 percent free from the soldier in her, but taking a giant step in that direction. This Professor is still trying to balance who she was and how she acted, the reactions she still has to certain events, with the person who had been buried beneath the soldier's shell and just freed. She'll still be a bit closed off, but this time only when they meet new people. But after warming up to them (much faster than she did in the last story) she'll be more comfortable expressing herself around them. Which, unfortunately means less Keta in the beginning of the chapters, but with more at the ends :)
> 
> The teddy bear, how sweet was that? I sort of imagine it as being like a fuzzy Pudsey Bear, but with a bow tie and button eyes instead of a bandage over its eye.


	2. Planet of the Dead

The Doctor and Professor walked quickly down the streets of London, towards the bus that had just pulled over. The little tear in space and time they'd been tracking seemed to be a ways away and, instead of walking through the bustle of people, they decided to take a little drive there instead, knowing that using the TARDIS might exacerbate the tear and make it unstable.

The Doctor pulled out the psychic paper, flashing it across the reader as they boarded.

"You're just in time," the driver smiled at them as they moved past to sit on the right side of the bus across from a dark haired woman in black.

The Doctor held out the broken chocolate egg in his hand to the woman, being polite as he spoke, "Hello, I'm the Doctor and this is the Professor! Happy Easter!" the woman eyed him a moment while the Professor gave him a small though amused smile. She still wasn't very comfortable showing much emotion around others as she was with just him, but she was getting there, "Funny thing is, we don't often do Easter. We can never find it, it's always at a different time. Although we remember the original. Between you and me, what really happened was..."

A small beeping noise interrupted his ramble.

He handed the woman the chocolate egg and reached into his pocket, searching for something, "Oh, sorry, hold on to that for me. Actually, go on, have it, finish it. It's full of sugar and I'm determined to keep these teeth," he bared his teeth at her in display, still patting his pockets.

The Professor shook her head and reached into his right pocket, pulling out a small device that looked like a circuit wedge with a small rotating dish on it, "Looking for this?" she held it up.

"Ah!" he took it from her, grinning, "Oh, we've got excitation!" he shook it as the other passengers eyed him oddly, "I'm picking up something very strange."

"I know the feeling," the woman in black remarked, looking out the window.

"Rhondium particles," he continued to explain to the woman, oblivious as to the fact she wasn't listening, "That's what we're looking for. This thing detects them," he tapped the gadget, "The Professor built it, she's just brilliant at that. You see the little dish should go round, that little dish there..."

"Right now, a way out would come in pretty handy. Can you detect me one of those?"

"Oh, the little dish is going round!" he cheered.

"Fascinating."

"And round. Whoa..." the dish started to spin faster until part of it exploded.

"Excuse me," an older blond woman looked at him, "Do you mind?"

He stood up, "Sorry. That was my little dish."

"Can't you turn that thing off?" the black clad woman asked.

The Doctor ignored her and turned to the Professor who had taken the device and was inspecting it, "Is it meant to do that?"

"No," she replied before turning to the woman, "What was your name?"

"Christina."

"Christina, hold on tight," she grabbed the handle, the Doctor doing the same, "Everyone, hold on!"

The bus suddenly lurched, shaking, jolting the passengers around as they screamed. The Doctor fell to the floor as the Professor managed to remain standing, holding onto the handle bar with one hand, the device in the other.

"The voices!" an older black woman in the back, sitting beside a black man, shouted, "Oh, the voices, they're screaming!"

One of the windows shattered and sparks flew from the wires above them. A young man fell down the stairs from the upper deck, "What's going on?"

There was a blinding light and more windows shattered, when it suddenly stopped. The Doctor and Professor looked up as sunlight streamed through the windows. They ran outside only to find themselves in a desert.

"End of the line," the Doctor breathed, glancing at the Professor, "Call it a hunch, but I think we've gone a little bit further than Brixton."

"San Helios," she replied, looking up at the moons, the size of it, feeling out their location in space…

Christina and the other passengers stepped out after them, the top deck of the bus crushed in with smoke wafting from it. Nothing around for miles.

The Doctor and Professor walked off a little ways, crouching down on the ground, examining the sand, letting it sift through their fingers.

"That's impossible," they heard the blond woman cry, "There are three suns. Three of them!"

"Like when all those planets were up in the sky!" a young black boy added.

"But it was Earth that moved back then, wasn't it?" the young man who fell down the steps countered.

"Oh, man, we're on another world!"

"It's still intact, though!" the driver came out from behind the bus, looking at it, "Not as bad as it looks. The chassis's still holding together. Oh, my boss is gonna murder me!"

"Can you still drive it?" the blonde woman turned to him.

"Oh, no, the wheels are stuck. Look at them, they're never gonna budge."

Christina walked over to them, her jacket off, and slipped on a pair of sunglasses, "Ready for every emergency."

The Professor reached into the Doctor's jacket and pulled out the sonic, taking his glasses and sonicing them tinted before putting them on him. He grinned at her in thanks before glancing at Christina, "Me too!"

"And what're your names?" Christina asked as they went back to examining the sand.

"I'm the Doctor," he replied, "She's the Professor."

"Name, not rank."

"The Doctor and the Professor," the Professor said.

"Surname?"

"The Doctor and the Professor," he agreed.

"You're called 'the Doctor' and 'the Professor?'"

"Yes, we are," she nodded.

"That's not a name, that's a psychological condition."

"Funny sort of sand, this," the Doctor cut in, "There's a trace of something else…" he moved to taste some of it when the Professor grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

"Already did that," she replied, turning his hand so the sand fell out of it, "And I didn't need to taste it to do so."

' _What is it then?_ ' he frowned, looking at her.

' _Dead,_ ' she replied, ' _Literally the dead, or particles of them._ '

He grimaced, "That's not good."

"What's wrong with sand?" Christiana asked.

They didn't answer.

"Hold on a minute," the black youth pointed at them, "I saw you, mate! The pair of you! You had that thing, that machine. Did you make this happen?"

"Humans on buses," the Professor gave him a small smirk, "Always blaming you aren't they?"

"If you must know," the Doctor turned to the youth, "We were tracking a hole in the fabric of reality. Call it a hobby. But it was a tiny little hole, no danger to anyone. Suddenly it gets big, and we drive right through it."

"But then where is it?" the driver looked around, "There's nothing, there's just sand!"

"Alright," the Professor nodded, conceding his point, understanding, "If you want proof," she grabbed a handful of sand and threw it at the space behind the bus to reveal a swirling vortex, "We drove through this."

It disappeared moments later.

"And that's..." Christina asked.

"A door," the Doctor replied as the Professor walked back over to him, "A door in space."

"So what you're saying is, on the other side of that is home?" the driver asked, "We can get to London through there?"

"The bus came through, but we can't."

The driver looked at the others, "Well, then what are we waiting for?"

"Oh, no, don't!"

The driver ran for the portal, "I'm going home, mate!"

"He said don't!" the Professor shouted.

But it was too late.

The driver hit the portal and screamed as his body caught fire and burned to a skeleton before falling through.

"He was a skeleton, man!" the black youth shouted, horrified, "He was bones, just bones!"

"It was the bus," the Professor stated, glancing at the Doctor, "Look at the damage, it was the bus protecting us."

"Great big box of metal," the Doctor murmured.

"Rather like a Faraday cage?" Christina supplied.

"Like in a thunderstorm, yeah?" the other young man called from where he was comforting the blond woman, "Safest place is inside a car, 'cos the metal conducts the lightning right through. We did it in school."

"But if we can only travel back inside the bus...a Faraday cage needs to be closed. That thing's been ripped wide open."

"Different dynamics with a wormhole," the Professor shook her head, "There's enough metal to make it work."

Christina nodded, "Then we have to drive five tons of bus, which is currently buried in the sand, and we've got nothing but our bare hands. Correct?"

"Nine and a half tons," she corrected.

"But…" the Doctor cut in, "The point still stands, yes."

"Then we need to apply ourselves to the problem with discipline!" Christina decided, "Which starts with appointing a leader."

"Yes, at last, thank you, so..."

"Well, thank goodness you've got me! Everyone do exactly as I say! Inside the bus immediately!"

"Is it safe in there?" the young man asked.

"I don't think anything's safe anymore, but if it's a choice between baking in there or roasting out here, I'd say baking is slower. Come on! All of you. Right now! And you, 'the Doctor' and 'the Professor.'"

"Yes, ma'am," the Doctor mock saluted.

"Up! Come on!"

The Professor shook her head a bit at the woman, ' _I think I like her…_ ' the Doctor remarked to her. She gave him a look, her eyes slightly narrow, but he smiled at her, ' _She is rather like you in a way._ '

She smiled at that and they turned to head up to the bus.

~8~

"Point five," Christina was saying as she stood before the group sitting in the bus, "The crucial thing is, do not panic. Quite apart from anything else, the smell of sweat inside this thing is reaching atrocious levels. We don't need to add any more. Point six, team identification. Names. I'm Christina, this man is apparently 'the Doctor…'"

"Hello," he waved.

"And she's 'the Professor,'" Christina added with a nod to the Professor, sitting beside him, before turning to the young man to her left, "And you?"

"Nathan," he waved.

"I'm Barclay," the black youth continued.

"Angela, Angela Whittaker," was the blond woman.

They skipped over the Doctor and Professor to the middle aged black couple in the back, "My name's Louis, everyone calls me Lou, and this is Carmen."

"Excellent," Christina nodded, "Memorize those names. There might be a test. Point seven, assessment and application of knowledge. Over to you, the Doctor and the Professor."

"I thought you were in charge," the Doctor quipped.

"I am."

"But a good leader utilizes her strength," the Professor replied.

Christina smirked, impressed, and nodded, "You two seem to be the brain box. So, start boxing."

"Right," the Doctor moved to sit on the back of his seat, "So, the wormhole. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was just an accident."

"No, it wasn't," Carmen spoke, "That thing, the doorway, someone made it for a reason."

"How do you know?" the Professor eyed her a moment.

"She's got a gift," Lou replied, "Ever since she was a little girl, she can just...tell things. We do the lottery, twice a week."

"You don't look like millionaires," Christina remarked.

"No, but we win ten pounds. Every week, twice a week, ten pounds. Don't tell me that's not a gift."

The Doctor hid his hand behind his back, holding up three fingers, "Tell me, Carmen. How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three," she answered. He added another finger, "Four."

"Very good!"

The Professor nodded, "Low level psychic ability exacerbated by an alien sun."

He moved to sit across from her, "What can you see, Carmen? Tell us. What's out there?"

"Something...something is coming," she breathed, "Riding on the wind. And shining."

"What is it?"

"Death. Death is coming."

Angela started to weep, "We're going to die."

"I knew it, man, I said so," Barclay fidgeted.

"We can't die out here," Nathan shook his head, "No one's gonna find us!"

"This isn't exactly helping," Christina called as their voices started to overlap.

"Shut up, we're not your soldiers," Barclay glared.

"It's not doing any good..." Nathan lamented.

Lou frowned, glancing at his wife, "You're upsetting her, be quiet."

"Will we be bones, like the bus driver?"

"Stop whimpering, all of you!" Christina called.

"Alright now," the Doctor tried, "Stop it, everyone, stop it…"

There was a high-pitched whistle and they winced, looking over to see the Professor had made the noise to get them to stop, getting them under control. They quieted down till only the sound of Angela crying could be heard.

The Doctor moved to stand before her, gripping her shoulders, "Angela, look at me. Angela, Angela, answer me one question, Angela. That's it, at me, at me," she looked up at him, "There we go, Angela, just answer me one thing. When you got on this bus, where were you going?"

"Doesn't matter now, does it?" she sighed.

"Answer the question."

"Just home."

"And what's home?"

"Me and Mike and Suzanne, that's my daughter. She's 18."

"Suzanne. Good," he sat down and looked at Barclay, "What about you?"

"Dunno," he shrugged, "Going round Tina's."

"Who's Tina? Your girlfriend?"

"Not yet."

"Good boy. What about you, Nathan?"

"Bit strapped for cash," Nathan sighed, "I lost my job last week. I was gonna stay in. Watch TV."

"Brilliant. And you two?"

"I was going to cook," Lou replied.

"It's his turn tonight," Carmen added, "Then I clear up."

"What's for tea?"

"Chops," Lou smiled, "Nice couple of chops and gravy. Nothing special."

"Oh, that's special, Lou. That is so special. Chops and gravy. Mmm! What about you, Christina?"

"I was going...so far away," she looked down.

"Far away. Chops and gravy. Watching TV. Mike and Suzanne and poor old Tina."

"Hey!" Barclay laughed.

"Just think of them," the Professor spoke up, eyeing each of them, "Everything you're going to be faced with is nothing compared to home."

The Doctor nodded, smiling at her, so proud that she was tapping into their emotions and not closing up, empathizing with them, "That planet out there," he turned back to the others, "All three suns and wormholes and alien sand, that planet is nothing. Not compared to all those things waiting for you. Food and home and people. Hold on to that. 'Cos we're gonna get there. I promise. The Professor and I, we're gonna get you home."

~8~

Barclay and Nathan stepped out of the bus, holding seat cushions, as the Doctor, Professor, and Christina looked on, "Here we go!" the Doctor cheered, "That's my boys! We lay a flat surface between the bus and the wormhole, like duckboards, and reverse into it!"

"Let some air out of the tires," Christina added, "Just a little bit. Spreads the weight of the bus, gives you more grip."

"Oh, that's good!"

"Holidays in the Kalahari."

"Yeah, but those wheels go deep," Barclay frowned.

"Then start digging."

"With what?"

"With this," she reached into her bag and pulled out a folding shovel.

The Doctor took it and opened it, handing it to Barclay as he glanced at the bag, "Got anything else in there?"

"Try that, might help with the seats," she handed Nathan a small hatchet.

"Thanks!" Nathan headed into the bus.

"I can't find the keys!" Angela called from inside.

"Buses don't have keys," the Professor walked over to her, "There's a master switch, one button for start, the other one for stop."

"Right. Hold on, oh, I've got it. Here we go, hold tight, ding ding!" she pressed the button but the engine sputtered and died.

"Oh, that doesn't sound too good," the Doctor commented as the Professor walked to the engine and looked at it, only to see sand everywhere, "Oh! Never mind losing half the top deck, you know what's worse? Sand. Tiny little grains of sand. The engine's clogged up."

Christina walked over to Barclay and Nathan, working on the wheels, "Anyone know mechanics?"

"Me!" Barclay stood, "I did a two week NVQ at the garage. Never finished it, but..."

"Try stripping the air filter," the Professor suggested as Barclay walked over.

"Back in two ticks," the Doctor added as the two of them walked off.

"Wait a minute!" Christina ran after them, "You're the ones with all the answers. I'm not letting you out of my sight."

~8~

The trio walked through the desert, just looking around for any sign of civilization. San Helios held thriving cities, one of them couldn't be too far away…

"It would be easier if you left the backpack behind," the Professor commented, eyeing Christina.

"Where I go, it goes," she replied.

"A backpack with a spade and an axe," the Doctor remarked, "Christina, who's going so far away, and yet scared by the sound of a siren. Who are you?"

"You can talk. Let's just say we're equal mysteries. Come on then. Tell me. If Carmen's right, if that wormhole's not an accident, then what is it? Has someone done this on purpose?"

They stopped walking, "We don't know."

"But every single instinct of mine is telling me to get us off this planet right now," the Professor added.

"And do you think we can?" Christina frowned.

"We live in hope," he replied.

"That must be nice. It's Christina de Souza," she held out her hand to them, "To be precise, Lady Christina de Souza."

The Doctor shook her hand, "Ooh, that's handy. 'Cos we're a Lord and Lady."

"Seriously?" she shook the Professor's hand as well, "The Lord and Lady of where?"

"It's quite a big estate."

"No, but there's something more about you. That device you were carrying, and the wormhole. Like you knew. And the way you stride around this place, like..."

"Like?"

"Like you're not quite..."

"Anyway! Come on! Allons-y!" they turned and headed off again.

"Oui, mais pas si nous allons vers un cauchemar," Christina agreed in French, following them.  _(Yes, but not if we go towards a nightmare)_.

The Doctor laughed at that when the Professor suddenly stopped again, "What is it?"

She frowned, squinting into the distance, "I don't like the look of that."

"Storm clouds," Christina shrugged, spotting them, "Must be hundreds of miles away."

"And getting closer."

"If that's a sand storm, we'll get ripped to shreds."

"It  _is_  a storm, but it is  _not_  sand."

They turned and ran back to the bus.

"You know, planet like this, I really miss that little buggy we made," the Doctor laughed to the Professor as she shook her head.

~/~\~

_They were lying on an old blanket that had seen better days but also its fair share of adventures, staring up at the stars. The desert was the perfect place to stargaze, the night cool, the sky clear, and no light for miles to dim the magnificence of the stars. The little buggy they'd spent the last few years building was a few feet away, getting a rest from its first trip out._

_She laughed to herself, she was NEVER letting him drive anything EVER again. She had actually feared for her life quite a few times._

_"Oi!" he looked over at her, hearing her thoughts, "I'm not THAT bad."_

_She scoffed, "Then why haven't you passed your pilot's test yet?"_

_"Because I possess the inability to effectively wear a skirt."_

_She rolled her eyes, "Well, you COULD wear a skirt…though I doubt it would help."_

_He laughed at that, taking her hand as they looked up at the stars once more, "You know I'd never let anything hurt you Kata," he told her, "I'll always keep you safe."_

_She smiled softly, "I know Theta. I wasn't REALLY afraid for my life, I trust you."_

_"Good," he squeezed her hand, his smile slowly fading as they gazed on._

_"Oh don't do that Theta," she commented, squeezing his hand as she turned on her side to face him, propping herself up on her elbow._

_"Do what?" he looked at her._

_"Grow all melancholy. You know how I hate it when you're sad because of me."_

_"I'm not sad because of you," he argued feebly, "I'm just…sad."_

_"Why?" she smiled, shaking her head, "You're only graduating. You can still come visit me during the year and you know I'll come see you during the holidays and breaks and whenever else I can."_

_"I know," he sighed sadly._

_"And besides," she continued, "You never know, you might just get out there and enjoy it. You can start living your life now, any life you want."_

_He looked at her, lifting his other hand to brush a lock of hair behind her ear, stroking her cheek fondly, "Any life without you isn't one I want to have."_

_"I'll still be here Theta," she reached up, grasping his wrist but making no move to pull his hand away, instead rubbing her thumb across his pulse point, "And in two years we'll be out there," she flopped onto her back, moving to hold up their joined hands to the sky, "Among the stars."_

_He started to smile, "We'll visit every one."_

_She giggled a bit, "Knowing you Theta, we'll have created them," she sighed, closing her eyes as she imagined it, "Knowing you, we'll end up fighting vast enemies, rescuing great civilizations, saving numerous planets…and running. A lot."_

_"I'm not THAT bad!" he insisted with a laugh, imagining it, wanting it SO badly._

_"A slow run for me is like a normal walk for you," she reminded him._

_He let out a sigh, a happy one this time, "We'll do it together," he decided, "Always. Just the two of us. Forever."_

_She shifted a bit, laying her head on his shoulder, his arm wrapping around her, as they watched a star shoot across the sky, "I like the sound of that."_

_He nodded to himself, it would happen. One way or the other, it would._

~/~\~

The Doctor ran into the bus with the Professor, followed by Christina and Barclay, "Where is it?"

"There, there on the seat," Barclay pointed and the Doctor picked up the boy's mobile, sonicing it.

"You're hardly going to get a signal, we're on another planet!" Christina shook her head.

"Oh, just watch me," he grinned, "Right, now, bit of hush, thank you. Gotta remember the number, very important number…" he dialed.

"Hello, Pizza Geronimo?" was the answer.

The Professor snatched the phone away and dialed once more, "Seven-six, not six-seven..." she muttered, "And honestly, YOU were the one who worked for them…"

"This is the Unified Intelligence Taskforce," an automatic reply came on, "Please select one of the following four options."

"Oh, I hate these things!" the Doctor frowned.

"No, if you keep your finger pressed on zero, you get through to a real person," Angela called, the group all watching them, "I saw it on Watchdog!"

"Thank you, Angela," the Professor nodded, hitting zero as she switched the phone to speaker, she and the Doctor sitting down.

"UNIT helpline, which department would you like?" a woman asked.

"This is the Professor, I'm with the Doctor. It's us."

"Please wait a moment while we transfer your call," the woman continued and then a soft jazz tune played as they were put on hold. The two aliens glanced at one another at that.

"Professor, Doctor," another woman greeted, "This is Captain Erisa Magambo. Might I say, sir, ma'am, it's an honor."

"Did you just salute?" the Doctor frowned.

"…no."

"Erisa, it's about the bus. You're at the tunnel, yeah?"

"And where are you?"

"We're on the bus…"

"The planet San Helios," the Professor added.

"It's very pretty and pretty dangerous," the Doctor glanced outside.

"A body came through here," Erisa replied, "Have you sustained any more fatalities?"

"No, and we're not going to," the Professor stated firmly.

"But we're stuck," the Doctor sighed, "We haven't got the TARDIS, and we need to analyze that wormhole."

"Our records indicate that the Professor has a remarkable assessment ability," Erisa remarked.

"I could scan the wormhole all I like," the Professor cut in, "But I would rather not burn my hand off in the process. And tossing sand into it would blur the results."

"We have a scientific advisor on site, Dr. Malcolm Taylor. Just the man you need, he's a genius."

"Oh, is he?" the Doctor nearly scoffed, "We'll see about that."

A moment later Erisa spoke again, though her voice was a bit distant, "Here's the Doctor and the Pro..."

"No, I'm alright now, thanks," a man replied, "It was just a bit of a sore throat, although I've got to be honest, a cup of tea might be nice…"

"It's THE Doctor and the Professor."

"Do you mean...'the Doctor' Doctor? And THE Professor!"

"I know. We all want to meet them one day, but we all know what that day will bring."

"We can hear everything you're saying," the Professor reminded her.

"Hello, Professor?" the man called, sounding clearer, "Doctor? Oh, my goodness!"

"Yes, we are," the Doctor rolled his eyes, "Hello, Malcolm!"

"The Doctor and Professor! Cor blimey. I can't believe I'm actually speaking to you! I mean, I've read all the files!"

"Really? What was your favorite, the giant robot?"

"If we could focus…" the Professor cut in.

"No, no, right, hold on, let's sort out that wormhole. 'Scuse us," he moved to the front of the bus with the Professor, lowering the volume, "Malcolm, something's not making sense here. We've got a storm and a wormhole, and neither of us can help thinking there's a connection."

"We need a complete full-range analysis of that wormhole."

"I've probably got the wrong idea," Malcolm began, "But I've wired up an integrator. I thought it could measure the energy signature…"

"No, that'll never work," the Doctor shook his head, "Just listen to us…"

"It's quite extraordinary, though! I'm measuring an oscillation of 15 Malcolms per second."

"Fifteen what?"

"Fifteen Malcolms. It's my own little term. A wavelength parcel of ten kilohertz operating in four dimensions equals one Malcolm."

"You...named a unit of measurement after yourself?"

"It didn't do Mr. Watt any harm. Furthermore, 100 Malcolms equals a Bernard."

"And who's that, your dad?"

"Don't be ridiculous, that's Quatermass."

"Right. Fine. But before we die of old age, which, in our case, would be  _quite_  an achievement, so congratulations on that, is there anyone else we can talk to?"

"No, no, no, no, but listen! I set the scanner to register what it can't detect and inverted the image."

The Professor blinked, "You did what?"

"Is that wrong?"

"No, Malcolm, that is brilliant," she smiled, "You'll be able to measure the wormhole," she gave a pointed look at the Doctor.

"Ok, I admit, that  _is_  genius," he conceded with a smile at her defense of another.

"The Doctor called me a genius," Malcolm breathed, "And the Professors said I was brilliant!"

"I know, I heard," Erisa remarked.

"Malcolm run a capacity scan," the Professor ordered lightly, "We need a full report."

"Call back when you've done it," the Doctor added, "And Malcolm? You're my new best friend."

"And you're mine too, sir," Malcolm nearly squealed.

The Doctor ended the call and looked at the Professor who was eyeing him with a small frown, "What?"

"I'm debating whether or not to be mildly offended that you have a new best friend," she remarked.

He just stood up from where he'd sat in the driver's seat and gave her a deep kiss, smirking as he pulled away, "Better?"

"Much," she smiled, actually starting to fully blush at his display of affection, something he hadn't seen in what felt like years having only gotten pink tinted cheeks out of her.

He glanced back at the group, calling out, "Barclay, we're holding on to this," before dashing out the door.

"Then you'd better bring it back!" Barclay shouted as Christina joined them.

~8~

The trio walked through the sand once more, stopping at the same hill as before, looking out at the approaching storm. The Doctor held up the phone, taking a picture of it, "Send this back to Earth, see if Malcolm can analyze the storm…"

"There's something in those clouds, something shining," Christina remarked, "Look..."

"Like metal..." the Professor nodded, squinting, just barely able to make out the storm. If it were closer she could probably assess what exactly it was but for now all she saw was dust and glinting.

"Why would there be metal in a storm?" Christina trailed off, looking around as a chirping reached her, "Did you hear something?"

"Hold on," the Doctor hushed her, "Busy."

"There was a noise, like a sort of...Doctor...Professor…"

They looked over to see a humanoid shape with an insect head watching them from a dune a short distance away. It approached them quickly, a weapon in hand, and spoke, clicking and chirping.

The Doctor quickly answered in that language, grabbing the Professor's arm to keep her from reaching for her blaster, "That's 'wait,' I shout 'wait,' people usually wait."

"No, they don't," the Professor remarked, her arm tensing, not at all pleased or comfortable with the gun being aimed at them.

"You speak the language?" Christina eyed him, shocked.

"Every language," he grinned smugly.

"Passingly," the Professor corrected, a slight teasing note in her voice, "I, though, am fluent," she grinned and turned to the creature, speaking quickly in the clicking language as well, "That's 'begging for mercy.'"

It motioned them on with its gun, "That means 'move,'" Christina remarked.

"Oh!" the Doctor grinned as they turned to march off, "You're learning."

They walked on, the creature behind them as it directed them through the sand, "These fly things, they must be responsible," Christina reasoned, "They brought us here."

"I doubt it," the Professor remarked.

Christina looked back at her, "Why's that?"

"Their ship," she nodded ahead at the crashed ship before them, "It's a wreck. They crashed, just like us."

~8~

They walked through the interior of the ship, seemingly in the process of being repaired, wires and electronics exposed all around them.

"But this place is freezing!" Christina grabbed her arms.

The Professor skimmed her hand across the wall a moment, "The hull's made of Photafine steel. Turns cold when it's hot. A boiling desert outside creates freezing ship inside."

"Since we met you, Christina, we've been through all the extremes!" the Doctor joked.

"That's how I like things," she smirked, "Extreme."

"Oh, this is beautiful!" he looked around, "Intact, it must have been magnificent. A proper streamlined deep-spacer!"

"I'll remember that as I'm being slowly tortured. At least I'm bleeding on the floor of a really well-designed spaceship!"

A second creature joined them and attached a device to its clothes, "Oh, right, good, yes, hello!"

"That," the Professor told Christina, nodding at the device, "Is a telepathic translator. He can understand us."

"Still sounds like gibberish to me," she remarked as the aliens clicked away.

"That's what she said," the Doctor nodded, " _He_  can understand  _us_. Doesn't work the other way round," he frowned, listening to the creatures click, "'You will suffer for your crimes.' Et cetera. 'You have committed an act of violence against the Tritovore race.' Tritovores, they're called Tritovores," he turned to the Professor grinning.

"I know," she laughed a bit, having identified them the moment she saw them.

He pouted but turned back to the Tritovores anyway, "'You came here in the 200 to destroy us.' Sorry, what's the 200?"

"It's the bus," Christina said, "Number 200, they mean the bus."

"Oh! No, look, I think you're making the same mistake Christina did. I'm the Doctor, by the way, this is the Professor, and that is Christina, the Honorable Lady Christina, at least I hope she's honorable! But we got pulled through that wormhole. The 200 doesn't look like that normally. It's broken, just the same as you," the Tritovores clicked and lowered their guns.

"What are they doing?"

"They believe us," the Professor said simply.

"What, as simple as that?'

"I've got a very honest face," the Doctor smiled.

"And the translator says he's telling the truth," the Professor added.

"Plus, the face!"

"It's a very lovely face," the Professor patted his cheek, making him beam at the compliment, before turning to the Tritovores, "There's a very strange storm heading our way, can you send out a probe?"

"Ah, they've lost power," the Doctor murmured as they clicked, the two Time Lords making their way over to the control panel, "Hmm, the crash knocked the mainline crystallography out of synch. But if I can jiggle it back..." he kicked the panel and the power came back on, "I thank you!" the aliens chattered, "Yes, I am! Frequently. Though the Professor's outnumbered me by at least a couple hundred…anyway, let's launch that probe!" he pulled a lever and the probe was out.

~8~

The trio sat in the control room, watching a holographic screen display their location in the galaxy.

"The Scorpion Nebula," the Professor nodded, "On the other side of the Universe."

"Just what you wanted," the Doctor remarked to Christina, "So far away," it zoomed in on the planet.

"The planet of San Helios, as I thought."

"And that's us?" Christina gaped, "We're on another world!"

"We have been for quite a while," the Doctor reminded her.

"I know, but seeing it like that..."

"It's good, isn't it?"

"Wonderful."

The Tritovores began to chirp.

"The Tritovores were going to trade with San Helios," the Professor translated, "A population of one hundred billion would create plenty of waste matter for them to absorb."

"By waste matter, you mean?"

"They feed off what others leave behind," the Doctor tried to explain, "From their...behind, if you see what I mean. It's perfectly natural. They  _are_  flies."

"Charming. Just remind me never to kiss them."

The projection shifted to a thriving, sparkling city with trees and parks.

"San Helios City," the Professor stated.

"That's amazing. But you've seen this sort of thing before, haven't you?"

"Thousands of times," the Doctor nodded.

"That Lord and Ladyship of yours...the Lord and Lady of where, exactly?"

"Of Time. We come from a race of people called Time Lords."

"You're aliens?"

"Yeah. But you don't have to kiss me either."

"Either of us," the Professor added, the only person she wanted kissing her was the Doctor.

' _I feel the same about you,_ ' he called in her mind.

She blinked, glancing over to see him grinning widely at her, obviously he'd caught that thought.

Her cheeks grew pink again.

"You look human," Christina eyed them.

"You look Time Lord," she countered, clearing her throat.

"So if that's San Helios, all we need to do is find that city. They can help us!"

"It's not that simple," she shook her head as the projection changed to the desert, "We  _are_  in the city. Right now."

"But it's sand! That first image, the temples and things, what's that, then? Ancient history?"

The Tritovore chirped.

"The image was taken last year," the Doctor translated.

"It became a desert in one year?"

The Doctor bent over and examined the sand, "The city, the oceans, the mountains, the wildlife, and 100 billion people, turned to sand. All those voices in Carmen's head. She's hearing them die."

"But I've got sand in my hair. That's dead people! Oh, that's disgusting! Oh!"

"Something destroyed the whole of San Helios."

"Yes, but in my hair!"

The Doctor glanced at the Professor, who didn't seem disturbed in the slightest about her hair, as she frowned at the projection in thought. Suddenly the mobile he'd taken rang, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Malcolm!" he answered, putting it on speaker, "Tell us the bad news!"

"Oh, you are clever!" Malcolm replied, "It  _is_  bad news! It's the wormhole, Doctor, it's getting bigger! We've gone way past 100 Bernards, I haven't invented a name for that."

"How can it get bigger by itself?"

"Well, that's why I'm phoning! I'm sure the Professor will work it out."

"Oi!" he mock glared at the phone, "What about me?"

"Oh yes, I'm sure you'll help her sir."

The Professor could only smirk at that, "Even  _they_  know you can't think as fast as me," she teased him quietly, making him beam at the familiar retort.

"Doctor, Professor," Erisa cut in, "We estimate the circumference of your invisible wormhole is now four miles, heading upwards. I've grounded all flights above London. We can't risk anyone else falling through."

"Good work, both of you," the Doctor agreed, shaking himself from his thoughts.

"But I have to know, does that wormhole constitute a danger to this planet?"

The phone beeped and he looked at it, "Oh, sorry, call waiting, gotta go…" he switched calls, "Yep?"

"Doctor, it's Nathan," the boy spoke, "We got those duckboard things down, but..."

"It's my fault," Angela sobbed in the distance.

"No, it's not, don't say that."

"What's happened?" the Professor asked.

"We kept on turning the engine, but...we're out of petrol. Used it all up. Even if we can get those wheels out...this bus is never going to move. You promised you'd get us home. Doctor? Are you still there?"

The Doctor slowly lowered the phone and ended the call just as the monitors started to beep and the Tritovores chirruped wildly.

"It's the probe," the Professor looked up, "It's reached the storm."

"And what's he saying?" Christina asked.

"It's not a storm," the Doctor replied grimly as they watched an image of the storm appear, an inordinate amount of flying stingrays with metal skin flying around on the screen.

"It's a swarm. Millions of them."

"Billions," the Professor corrected with just a glance.

One of the creatures flew at the probe and the picture was lost.

"Ah!" the Doctor groaned, "We've lost the probe. I think it got eaten. Everything on this planet gets eaten."

"How far away is that swarm?" Christina asked.

"A hundred miles," the Professor replied, "But at that speed, it will be here in twenty minutes."

A Tritovore chirruped.

"No, they're not just coming for us," she looked up, "They want the wormhole."

"They're heading for Earth!" Christina gasped.

"Show the analysis," the Professor called and one of the Tritovores pulled up a 3D image of the creatures.

"Incredible!" the Doctor breathed, looking at the image, seeing what the Professor had seen, "They swarm out of a wormhole, strip the planet bare, then move on to the next world, start the life cycle all over again."

"So, they  _make_  the wormholes?" Christina frowned.

"They must do."

"But how? They don't exactly look like technicians. And if the wormhole belongs to them, why are they 100 miles away?"

"Because they need to be? No. That's bonkers…"

"No," the Professor looked at him, eyes wide, "That's it! Don't you see? Billions of them, flying in formation, all around the planet, round and round, faster and faster, till they  _generate_  a rupture in space! The speed of them, and the numbers, and the size, all of that rips the wormhole into existence!"

"And the wormhole's getting bigger…" Christina trailed.

"Because they're getting closer!" the Doctor realized.

"But how do they get through? 'Cos that wormhole's a killer, we've seen it!"

"No, no, see the exoskeleton?"

"Metal."

"They've got bones of metal," the Professor nodded, "They eat metal and extrude it into the exoskeleton so their velocity makes the wormhole, then their body makes it safe."

"Perfect design!" the Doctor cheered as he grinned widely.

"Those things are going to turn the entire Earth into a desert!" Christina gaped at him, "So why exactly are you smiling?"

"Worse it gets, the more we love it!"

"Oi!" the Professor cut in, "Speak for yourself."

"Oh you can't say you don't love it."

She sighed, "I suppose I do," she looked at the Doctor, "I think you've rubbed off on me."

Christina frowned a moment, "The thing is…you're missing the obvious. We came here through the wormhole, yes? But our Tritovore friends didn't. They came here to trade with San Helios. Therefore, the question is, why did  _they_  crash?"

"Ah, good question!" the Doctor rounded on the other aliens, "Like she said, why did you crash?" they clicked and led them out and into another room with a large hole in the floor, "Oh, yes. A gravity well, look. Goes all the way down to the engine. So what happened?" more clicking, "He says the drive system stalled. Ten miles up, they fell out of the sky. But what caused that?"

The aliens shrugged.

"Which means, 'no idea,'" Christina remarked.

"That's a crystal nucleus down there, yes?" the Professor glanced down, squinting as she spotted a small device at the bottom, the Tritovore clicked, "And it looks like it survived the crash. If the crystal is intact..." she looked up at the Doctor.

His eyes widened, "Oh, yes, that's better than diesel!"

"What, you can use the crystal to move the bus?" Christina asked.

"I think so. The spaceship's a write-off, but the 200's small enough."

"How does a crystal drive a bus?"

"In a super clever outer spacey way, just trust us!" he pulled up a feed on a monitor, looking at the security footage of it, "There's the crystal! It's fallen to the bottom of the well. Have you got access shafts?" the Tritovore chirruped, "All frozen?" he looked at the Professor, "Maybe we can open them!"

She nodded and grabbed a Bluetooth-like device, tossing it to Christina, "Internal comms., put that on," they ran for the door.

"You stay here, keep an eye on the shaft," the Doctor called as they ran out, "Tell us if anything happens!"

They ran down the hall back to the control room and straight to a bank of machinery, "If I can use that sunlight to start the automatic maintenance…" the Doctor muttered before calling out to the other comm. the Professor had brought with her, "Christina?" he tugged some cables, "If you see a panel opening in that shaft, let me know."

"Nothing yet," she called back.

The Professor connected a few cables, "Anything now?"

"'Fraid not."

The Doctor flicked a few switches, "Any sign of movement?"

"Nope."

The Professor twisted a knob, "How's that?"

"Nothing."

The Doctor sighed, pulling a lever, "Any result?"

"Not a dickie bird. So let me get this right…you need that crystal? Then consider it done."

"Why, what d'you mean? Christina? Christina!" he turned and ran out of the room, the Professor after him.

"The aristocracy survives for a reason. We're ready for anything."

They reached the well room just as Christina did a swan dive into the gravity well.

"No!" the Doctor shouted, running to the pulley she'd set up and used the sonic to stop it, "That's better."

"I decide when I stop, thank you," Christina replied as she hung from her harness.

"You're about to hit the security grid," the Professor informed her as they looked down to see Christina hovering above a crackling energy field.

"Excellent. So what do I do?"

"Try the big red button," the Doctor suggested.

She pushed the button right in front of her and the grid went off, "Well done!"

"Now come back up! I can do that."

"Or I can," the Professor offered, if a bit tensely, not  _really_  wanting to be the one going down the well. She felt her nerves gathering just sitting at the top of it, it was a fairly long way down...

"Oh, don't you wish?" Christina laughed.

"Slowly!" the Doctor relented.

"Yes, sir."

They watched as she twisted and proceeded down, headfirst.

"Quite the mystery, aren't you? Lady Christina de Souza. Carrying a winch in her bag."

"No stranger than you, spaceman."

"We had this friend, once. She called me spaceman."

"Called me time-girl a few times," the Professor recalled, sitting down beside the Doctor on the edge of the well, though looking down into it, focusing on Christina, while he sat with his back to it.

"And was she right?" Christina asked, "Do you zoom about the place in a rocket?"

"Well, a little blue box," he shrugged, "Travels in more than space. It can journey through time, Christina. Oh, the places we've been. World War One, creation of the Universe, end of the Universe, the war between China and Japan," he looked down into her bag and pulled out a very old, golden chalice, "And the court of King Athelstan, in 924 AD. Don't remember you being there. So what are you doing with this?"

"Excuse me. A gentleman never goes through a lady's possessions."

The Tritovore that had followed them chirped.

"It's the Cup of Athelstan," the Professor explained, "Given to the first King of Britain as a coronation gift from Hywel, King of the Welsh. But it's been held in the International Gallery for 200 years."

"Which makes you, Lady Christina, a thief," the Doctor stated.

"I like to think I liberated it," she remarked airily.

"Don't tell me you need the money."

"Daddy lost everything. Invested his fortune in the Icelandic banks."

"No, no, no, if you're short of cash, you rob a bank. Stealing this, that's a lifestyle."

"I take it you disapprove?"

"Absolutely."

"The TARDIS," the Professor reminded him.

He nodded slowly, "Except, that little blue box. I stole it. From our people."

"Good boy," Christina laughed, when suddenly there was a loud screeching, "What the blazes was that?"

"We never did find out why the ship crashed. Christina, I think you should come back up," the Doctor called as they stood.

"Too late. I can see it."

"Careful. Slowly."

The Professor turned to the Tritovore, "Have you got an open-vent system?" it clicked and nodded, "I thought so."

"What does that mean?" Christina asked.

"It's like when birds fly into the engines of an aircraft," the Doctor explained.

Christina gasped, "One of the creatures!"

"It must have gotten trapped in the vents," the Professor reasoned, "And caused the crash."

"Christina, get out!" the Doctor shouted.

"It's not moving, I think it's injured," Christina replied.

"No, it's dormant," the Professor shook her head, "Because it's so cold down there. But your body heat is raising the temperature."

"I tend to have that effect. Almost there."

"Not just the crystal," the Doctor called, "We need the whole bed, the plate thing."

"I've got it!" she shouted a moment later.

The Doctor immediately soniced the winch to pull her up, "Come on, come on!" they watched as Christina flew up the well, the creature following her, "Come on, come on, come on, come on! It's gonna eat its way up!"

"Hit the button!" the Professor shouted. Christina slammed it on her way up, turning on the field which the creature flew into.

"Oh, brilliant!" the Doctor cheered.

Christina arrived at the top of the well and the Doctor swung her over to the side, taking the crystal and its clamps while the Professor unclipped the woman from her harness.

The Tritovore clicked excitedly

"Isn't she just?" he laughed.

They turned and ran out of the room, back to the control room where the other Tritovore had remained, "Commander!" the Professor called, "Mission complete! Now we have got to get back to the 200, all of us."

The commander clicked.

"Oh, don't be so daft!" the Doctor shook his head, "A captain  _can_  leave his ship if there's a bus standing by."

There was a loud rumbling.

"What the hell was that?" Christina looked around warily, "Is this place safe? It's the creature. It's not dead."

"Maybe you didn't hit just one of them. If you hit a swarm..."

"Do you mean if there's more on board?"

"This ship is built inside a metal sleeve," the Professor remarked, "They can move through the infrastructure, all around us."

There was a thud against the wall.

"And they wake up hungry," the Doctor added, "Commander, you've got to come with us, right now!"

"You can come back to Earth, we'll find you a home!" Christina tried.

"And that's the word of a lady! Come on!"

One of the Tritovores started after them and the second turned to follow when one of the creatures dropped through the ceiling and bit him. The remaining Tritovore took out its gun and prepared to shoot.

"No, don't!" the Professor shouted, realizing the make of weapon would be useless against a creature of that size and build, even her trusty blaster couldn't help. The Tritovore advanced and was eaten as well, "There's nothing we can do," she turned, "Run!"

They ran through the corridors.

~8~

As they were running through the desert ahead of the swarm, the mobile rang. The Doctor tossed the crystal and plate to the Professor and grabbed the phone, "Doctor..." Malcolm started.

"Not now, Malcolm!" he shouted, snapping the phone shut as they ran to the bus.

"At last!" Nathan called, standing in the doorway, "Where've you been?"

"Get inside," the Professor ordered, placing the plate on the ground, "Get them sitting down."

"Now then, let's have a look," the Doctor held up the crystal.

"So what does that crystal do?" Christina asked.

The Doctor tossed it over his shoulder, "Oh, nothing, don't need the crystal."

"I risked my life for that!"

"No, you risked your life for the clamps," the Professor remarked as the Doctor unhooked them and tossed her two. They ran around the bus and attached them to the tires before running inside.

"But what are the clamps for?" Christina continued as she followed them, "Do they turn the wheels?"

"Something like that," the Doctor went to sit in the driver's seat when the Professor pulled him back.

"What have I told you about piloting?" she asked him, taking his place.

He nodded and fixed the base of the clamp onto the wheel, "We just need to fix this. Have you got a hammer in that bag?"

"Funnily enough," Christina pulled out a hammer.

"Phone, phone..." he pulled it out again, "Malcolm, it's us!"

"I'm ready!" Malcolm shouted.

"Ready for what?"

"I don't know! You tell me!"

"We'll try to get back. There might be something following us. You need to find a way to close the wormhole."

"Would that be a compressed burst of feedback on a counter-oscillation, perchance?"

"Oh, Malcolm! You're brilliant!"

"Coming from you, sir, that means the world."

"Oi! I called him that first!" the Professor shouted.

"What sort of something?" Erisa asked, "That wormhole is now measuring ten miles and growing, I need to know the exact nature of the threat."

"Sorry, gotta go," the Doctor snapped the phone shut.

The base of the clamp sparked, "It's not compatible!" the Professor frowned.

"Bus, spaceship, spaceship, bus," he mumbled, trying to think, "We need to weld the two systems together."

"And how do you do that?" Christina shook her head.

"We need something non-corrosive, malleable, ductile…" the Professor looked at Christina, "Gold."

"Oh, no you don't."

"Christina, what is it worth now?" the Doctor asked her.

Barclay walked up, offering his watch, "Hey, hey, use this!"

The Professor eyed it, already able to tell it wasn't real, "I said  _gold_."

"It  _is_  gold."

"Oh, they saw you coming," the Doctor remarked, "Christina!"

Barclay moved to sit back down, dejected, when Christina looked back at the other passengers, before taking out the cup, "It's over 1,000 years old. Worth 18 million pounds. Promise me you'll be careful."

The Doctor took the cup gently, "I promise," and then he turned it upside down on the base and banged it with the hammer.

"I hate you."

The Doctor merely grinned as he finished up, "Right then," he looked back at the others, "Hold on tight!"

"What for?" Barclay called, "What's she doing?"

"Do as he says!" Christina snapped, turning to the Professor, "What are you doing?"

The Professor merely powered up the bus. It rattled, but then began to rise out of the sand.

"Ah, you are so kidding me!" Barclay cheered as they looked out.

"We're flying!" Nathan gasped, "It's flying!"

"She's flying the bus!" Lou laughed.

"It's a miracle!" Angela breathed.

"Anti-gravity clamps," the Doctor grinned, "Didn't we say? Round we go."

The Professor turned the bus away from the oncoming swarm and aimed it at the wormhole.

"Professor!" Carmen shouted, "They're coming!"

"Do you think this thing will survive the journey back?" Christina asked.

The Doctor looked at the Professor and smiled, "Only one way to find out!" he cheered, "Next stop..."

"Planet Earth!"

Everyone held on tight as the Professor propelled the bus through the wormhole. There was a flash of light as it shot out and into the sky above London.

"It's London!" Barclay shouted.

"We're back home!" Angela gasped.

"They did it!" Nathan cheered, "They did it!"

The soldiers below opened fire as a few creatures flew through the wormhole after them.

The Doctor whipped out the phone and called out, "Malcolm! Close that wormhole!"

"Yes, sir!" Malcolm cheered, "My pleasure, sir!"

Click.

"He's hung up on me!" he glared, dialing again, "Malcolm?"

"Not now, I'm busy."

Click.

"He's hung up again!" one more time, "Malcolm! Listen to me!"

"It's not working!"

"We need that signal. We've got billions of those things about to fly through!"

"Well, what do I do?"

"Loop it back through the integrator and keep the signal ramping up," the Professor shouted.

"But by how much?"

"500 Bernards! Do it now!"

A moment later Malcolm was back, "Yes!"

And then the wormhole closed. The UNIT soldiers continued to fire at the three creatures that had escaped.

"Professor, it's coming for us!" Nathan shouted, spotting one heading for them.

She just swerved the bus and hit the creature away with the back of it, sending it falling down towards the soldiers, "Got it!"

"Did I say I hated you?" Christina breathed, turning to the Doctor, "I was lying."

She moved to kiss him only to encounter empty air. She opened her eyes to see the Professor had pulled him down and kissed him instead, all the while managing to switch places with him so  _he_  was now the one driving.

The Doctor blinked at her, looking stunned at the display of affection, and equally stunned that he had been moved into the seat and hadn't even realized.

"Go on," she told him with a smile, "I know how much you love driving things."

He laughed and turned fully front in the seat, calling back, "Do not stand forward of this point. Ladies and gentlemen, you have reached your final destination. Welcome home, the mighty 200."

The bus flew around London a bit more before gliding down to the street amidst the cheers and applause of the soldiers. The Doctor opened the bus door with the sonic as everyone gathered up their belongings and headed out.

"Welcome back," a soldier greeted them as they stepped out, "If you could step away from the bus to be safe. As fast as you can. It's standard procedure. We need to screen you and then you'll all be taken to debriefing."

The Doctor held up the psychic paper as he and the Professor stepped out, "We don't count."

"No, but Doctor..." Christina tried to follow them but was blocked by a soldier.

"With me, ma'am," the soldier took her arm and led her off.

The Professor nodded towards an official looking woman in a UNIT uniform and they headed over to her only for a short man in a lab coat and glasses to run up to them.

"Doctor!" he shouted, "Professor!"

"You must be Malcolm!" the Doctor smiled.

Malcolm suddenly grabbed the Doctor in a large hug, "Oh! Oh, I love you!" he pulled away and turned to hug the Professor just as tight, "I love you, I love you."

"I think he loves us," the Doctor remarked to her.

"To your station, Dr. Taylor," Erisa rolled her eyes at him.

"Yes, ma'am," Malcolm turned and headed back but stopped to point at them, "I love you!"

The Doctor pointed back with a smile and Malcolm turned and walked on.

"Doctor," Erisa saluted, "Professor. I salute you, whether you like it or not. Now, I take it we're safe from those things?"

"They'll start again," the Professor told her, "Generate a new doorway."

"It's not their fault," the Doctor added, "It's their natural life cycle."

"But we'll see if we can nudge the wormholes to uninhabited planets."

"Closer to home, Captain, those two lads," he nodded towards Barclay and Nathan, "Very good in a crisis. Nathan needs a job, Barclay's good with engines. You could do a lot worse. Privates Nathan and Barclay, UNIT's finest."

"I'll see what I can do," Erisa nodded, "And I've got something for you."

Behind her, a tarp before a lorry was dropped to reveal the TARDIS.

The Doctor laughed and walked over to it with the Professor, "Better than a bus any day! Hello!"

"Found in the gardens of Buckingham Palace," Erisa informed them.

"Oh, she doesn't mind."

"Now, I've got three dead alien stingrays to clear up. I don't suppose you fancy helping with the paperwork?"

"Not a chance!"

"Till we meet again, Doctor, Professor."

"I hope so," the Professor smiled at her, shaking her hand. Erisa nodded at them and turned to go.

They turned around just as Christina ran over to them, "Little blue box! Just like you said! Right then, off we go! Come on, Doctor, Professor, show me the stars!"

"No," the Doctor shook his head.

"What?" she frowned.

"I said no."

"But I saved your lives. And you saved mine."

"So?"

"We're surrounded by police. I'll go to prison."

"Yeah."

"But you were right, it's not about the money. I only steal things for the adventure, and today, with you...I want more days like this. I want every day to be like this. Why not?"

"People have travelled with us and we've lost them. Lost them all. Never again."

It wasn't just that.

The Professor was still reeling from the return of her emotions. All the ones she'd kept bottled up and buried had resurfaced, and it was trying for her to attempt to handle them all. When it was just the two of them she seemed to do better, but when other people were involved it made things a bit more difficult. She'd been brilliant today, done brilliantly in opening herself up more, in not growing discomforted around so many frantic emotions back in the bus, but he didn't want to push it by taking on a permanent Companion before she was ready to have someone brand new, someone she didn't know and wasn't familiar with, travelling with them. She needed this time with just him much more than he needed another Companion.

So, for now, he would do what she needed.

"Lady Christina de Souza!" a man in a beige trench coat walked over, "Oh, I have waited a long time to say this. I am arresting you on suspicion of theft," another officer cuffed her hands behind her back, "You do not have to say anything, etcetera, etcetera. Dennison, take her away."

The duo stood there and watched as she was led away.

"Doctor?" Carmen called, drawing their attention over to her and Lou a few feet away, "You take care, now. You as well Professor."

The Doctor smiled at them, "You too! Chops and gravy, lovely!"

"No, but you be careful. Because your songs are ending."

His smile faded, the Professor tensing slightly beside him, "What do you mean?"

"It is returning. It is returning through the dark. And then, Doctor...oh, but then...he will knock four times."

Carmen and Lou left, leaving the Doctor standing there, stunned, the Professor anxious. He glanced back at Christina as she was led to the police car and pulled out his sonic, flashing it to unlock her cuffs.

"What was that for?" the Professor asked, curious.

"She is like you in many ways," he remarked, "I wouldn't ever want you taken away."

She smiled a bit at that and they watched as Christina shimmed out the other side of the police car and ran back towards the bus.

"No!" the detective shouted, racing after her, "Stop that woman! Stop that woman! Stop her! Don't just stand there, stop her!" Christina quickly closed the doors on him as the duo walked over, "Open the door! I'll add resisting arrest!"

"I'd step back if I were you," the Doctor warned.

"I'm charging you too! Aiding and abetting!"

"Yes…" he nodded, "We'll just step inside this police box and arrest ourselves."

They turned and, with a smirk, headed back to the TARDIS.

"Out, now!" the detective shouted but Christina just waved at him and started up the bus, leaving him to watch helplessly as it took off, "No! Come back!"

Everyone laughed and cheered as she led the bus on, "Go on!" Angela shouted.

The Time Lords stopped by the TARDIS door and looked up as Christina stopped the bus and opened the door, "We could've been so good together," she told them.

" _We_  are already good together," the Doctor took the Professor's hand and they stepped into the TARDIS as the bus took off into the night's sky.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we've gotten our second hint about who will be regenerating in the end :)
> 
> I just about died of Fluff Overdose (after having starved myself of Keta) writing that flashback. I can't stop smiling and going 'awww' every time I read it :) The next flashback, unfortunately, won't be as fluffy as this one :( But it'll still be very deep and emotional, especially for the Professor.
> 
> Next chapter is from the Sarah Jane Adventures, the Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith, featuring the 10th Doctor (and Professor) and an old foe, the Trickster. Even though I'm going to try to explain what's going on and what's happening in the missing scenes as best I can, I would still reccommend watching the episode on youtube or somewhere because it's just a great episode :) As is Death of the Doctor, which will also appear in my revision of Series 5.


	3. The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is from the Sarah Jane Adventures, featuring the Doctor and Professor :)

Sarah Jane Smith stood before a female vicar, her family and friends behind her with Peter Datlon, her fiancé, beside her as she beamed.

"…why these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace…"

Suddenly the doors to the small chapel burst open and the Doctor ran in, the Professor behind him, "Stop this wedding now!" he bellowed.

Sarah Jane spun around, as did everyone in their seats, to see them, dressed as they always were, and gasped, "What?"

"What's going on?" a young girl beside Sarah Jane's son Luke looked at them, confused.

"Who the hell are they?" Peter asked.

"I don't believe it," Luke grinned at them.

"Who're they?" the girl turned to him.

"Master!" K9 exclaimed, rolling out from under a table, "Mistress!"

"He said stop this wedding!" the Professor stepped over to his side, tense, ready.

A heavy wind picked up, forcing them to stumble back as the lights began to flicker.

"Alert!" K9 rolled in a circle, "Alert, danger mistress Sarah Jane!"

"Sarah!" the Doctor shouted, waving towards her, "Get away from him!"

Sarah Jane looked at Peter, stunned, and quickly tried to pull away but he held firm to her arm, "No, please let me go."

"Don't be afraid Sarah Jane," he reassured her, "It's the angel."

A small flickering of electrical lights appeared in the corner and a humanoid creature with no eyes and sharp teeth decked out in a large white robe and hood appeared.

"It's the Trickster!" the Professor and the girl shouted at once.

"Mum!" Luke tried to get to his mother but the wind held him back as well, "Mum!"

Sarah Jane turned to him, frightened.

"Sarah!" the Doctor called, reaching for her.

"Trickster let her go!" the Professor threatened, pulling out her blaster, but the wind made it difficult for her to aim and keep it steady.

"Too late Time Lords!" the Trickster laughed, drifting over Sarah Jane and Peter, "You're mine Sarah Jane Smith, mine forever!"

"Sarah!" the Doctor shouted again, desperately struggling against the wind, as was the Professor, but it was too strong.

"Doctor!" Sarah Jane reached for them, "Professor!"

But it was too late.

She disappeared with the Trickster and Peter.

"Sarah!" the Professor stumbled forward as the wind abruptly cut off. They ran to the altar and looked around.

"Sarah!" the Doctor tried to spot her, when the room started to shake, "No!"

Energy waved over all the guests, surrounding them till all of them, save Luke, the girl, and a young black boy along with K9 and the aliens, disappeared.

"Dad!" the girl cried, "Mum!"

The Professor put her blaster away and grabbed the Doctor, pulling him to the altar, ducking down and holding on as the shaking increased, "Hold on!" she ordered the children, "Everyone hold on!"

A blinding white light filled the room…

~8~

"Luke?" the Doctor called, kneeling by Luke as he laid unconscious on the ground, "Luke Smith?"

Luke blinked blearily, slowly waking up to see the Doctor and Professor hovering over him, "D…Doctor?" he asked, "Professor?"

"That's us," she nodded.

"Good to meet you in the flesh," the Doctor smiled.

"What happened?" Luke suddenly jolted up, remembering, "Mum! The Trickster!"

"Luke, Luke, Luke, Luke, Luke listen to me," the Doctor cut in, trying to calm him down, "Everything's going to be alright, we can find Sarah, we can bring her back, we promise."

"But we need you to be strong for us," the Professor continued as the two other children behind them started to wake up, "Just like you were before I'm told. We know you can do it."

"Who are you?" the young black boy asked as the duo turned to him.

"Hello!" the Doctor leapt up and ran over to him, pulling him to his feet, recalling Sarah Jane mentioning these two young people, "Clyde!" and then turned to the girl, "And you must be Rani!"

"What?" Clyde shook his head, confused, when the Doctor ran back to the altar and knelt down on the floor, listening, "How did you know my name?"

The Professor shook her head and reached out a hand to help Luke up, "Oh…" she frowned a moment and eyed him.

"What?" Luke asked.

"Your DNA…I'm reading 10,000 different components…"

"Really?" the Doctor looked up, shocked.

"How do you know that?" Luke gaped at her.

"Academic," she shrugged, "I can scan things using my hands or any of my other senses."

"Like a computer?"

"Far better than a computer," the Doctor called.

"I was created by the Bane," he explained to them, "Using the DNA of 10,000 different humans. Sarah Jane saved me and adopted me."

"Good old Sarah," the Doctor beamed.

"Wait a minute…" Rani cut in with a gasp, "It's you, isn't it?"

The Doctor jumped up and headed down the aisle towards the fireplace in the back, "It's us."

"The Doctor!" Rani exclaimed, "And the Professor!"

"That's them," Luke nodded as they headed over to where the Doctor had his ear pressed to the floor.

"I hope you're as good as Sarah Jane says you are," Clyde remarked, eyeing them.

"Well…you know journalists, always exaggerating," the Doctor pushed himself up and looked around again, "But yeah…" he turned to them, "I'm pretty amazing on a good day…and if you think I'M good, wait till the Professor gets going," he shot her a smile earning a small one in return.

"Master, inquiry," K9 rolled over, "Where is mistress Sarah Jane?"

"K9!" the Doctor beamed, kneeling down to pet him, "Did you miss me? Did you miss me?"

"Repeat, where is mistress Sarah Jane?"

"Where are we?" Clyde shouted.

The Time Lords looked over to see Clyde staring out the window. Luke and Rani walked over to look out as well. They stood, watching behind the children, as they stared out into blank white nothingness, as though they were floating on clouds.

"Interdimensional shift," the Professor stated, "Time has moved on."

"But us…" the Doctor nodded, "At least for time being…we've been left behind."

"There's nothing out there!" Rani frowned.

The Professor turned and walked back down the aisle, looking around intently as the Doctor followed, the children still looking out.

"I said all along," Clyde sighed, "I knew there was something wrong about all of this…" he looked back to see the two aliens standing by another window in the back, "And what exactly is going on?"

"We'll explain later," the Doctor waved him off. That certainly didn't help as all three children ran over and started speaking at once, asking about their families and Sarah Jane. The Doctor quickly pulled out a noisemaker from his pocket and swung it around till they quieted down, "Shh! Here's the answer to all your questions…"

"Yes, it was the Trickster," the Professor cut in.

"Yes, we're trapped."

"Yes we're the only ones who can get us out of the trap."

"Yes, we're gonna bring Sarah Jane, and your mum and dad, and all the others back safe."

"But we can't do any of it without you."

Rani eyed them oddly, "Do you two always…"

"Yes," they said at once, though the Doctor was beaming widely. This was the first time they'd  _really_  and  _completely_  finished each others sentences. He  _knew_  bringing the Professor to see one of his old Companions again would be good for her. She seemed far more comfortable and open around people she knew, people who were close to him, people who were familiar to her, like Jackson Lake when he thought he had been the Doctor as well, and now Sarah Jane and Luke. He hadn't quite been hoping for the Trickster to be involved in all this when the TARDIS had alerted him to Sarah Jane's wedding announcement. But when they'd tried to land and hadn't been able to without great effort, he knew something was wrong.

Clyde, who had been very amused, crossed his arms, smirking, "You need us?"

"Just like Sarah Jane needs you," the Professor nodded.

"But my mum and dad," Rani frowned, "Where are they?"

"Just go on with them Rani," Luke whispered, "I saw them save the world."

"You helped us save the world Luke-y boy!" the Doctor slapped his cheeks, "Right!" he turned to leave, "Come on, we can use the TARDIS!" they started to run after the duo when he stopped suddenly and faced them, "I assume everyone knows what TARDIS is?" they nodded, "Unless you've really not been paying attention…and…" he turned and they ran off again, "Allons-y!" they ran through the back door of the chapel and down the hall to the empty parlor but there was no TARDIS. The Doctor stopped, in shock, "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, it was there!" he looked at the Professor, "It was right there!"

"Do you hear that?" she frowned, listening, and soon the wheezing of the TARDIS sounded as it tried to materialize before them, only managing to vaguely appear.

"That noise!" Rani's eyes widened, "I've heard it before."

"That was us, trying to break through," the Professor watched the TARDIS carefully, "We'd been locked out by the Trickster."

"Temporal schism is preventing TARDIS materialization," K9 called as he joined them.

"Wait a minute… _that's_  the TARDIS?" Clyde eyed the box skeptically, "That's just a wooden box!"

"Come on!" the Doctor focused on the TARDIS, "You can do it, more power, come on!" it faded, "Ok, well, no TARDIS," he put his hands in his pockets and turned to face the children, sullen.

The Professor sighed, "It can't materialize till time moves forward."

"What so we're trapped here?" Rani gaped, "Wherever this is?"

"No, 'cos what have we got?" the Doctor smiled, "We've got K9!"

"Affirmative," K9 called.

"And we've got the Professor!" he shot her another grin, "And we've got you three and any friend of Sarah Jane Smith is a friend of ours."

"But where is this?" Clyde asked again, "What's happened to the rest of the world?"

"Our present location," K9 announced, "No-where, no-when."

"No-when?" Luke frowned.

The Professor nodded, having already come to that conclusion, "Look at the clocks."

The three turned around and glanced at the clock on the wall, ticking the same second.

"Time has stopped," Luke's eyes widened.

"What?" Clyde looked down at his watch, "You're joking."

"Look again," the Professor told Luke.

Luke frowned and walked over to a clip of a horse race on a small TV, the horse mid jump, repeating, "No…this second's on a loop," he glanced at the digital clock, "23 seconds and 23 minutes past 3 o'clock."

"And we're caught inside it. In this one second."

"But, again, where is Sarah Jane?" Clyde asked.

"I think she's right here," the Doctor looked around.

~8~

"So we've been kept behind in this second…" Rani tried to figure it all out as the Doctor examined the floor by a sofa, the Professor going through settings on the sonic, trying find one that would help them.

"Affirmative mistress Rani," K9 nodded.

"But the rest of the world…mum and dad, and everyone else, they've moved on from here, going forwards in time. Why has the Trickster trapped us here?"

The Doctor popped up off the floor and pulled off his specs, "Oh, come on Rani, you know the answer to that."

"We're Sarah Jane's friends, all of us," Rani realized as the Doctor headed for the stairs, "Her  _best_  friends…"

The Doctor tossed the Professor his coat and she folded it over her arm, making him beam at the action though she didn't seem to notice she had done it, far too focused on watching Rani figure it out, "And what sort of advantage is that?" she asked.

"Hostages!" Rani turned around, "He can use us to get to her!"

Clyde frowned, "But we've met the Trickster before but we've never actually found out who he is."

"The Tickster is a creature from beyond the Universe," the Professor explained, still a bit tense and on the alert should the Trickster try to attack the children. She put her attention back on the sonic as the Doctor slowly made his way down the stairs, "Forever trying to break into our reality and manifest himself. He's one of the Pantheon of Discords."

"That's a good name for a band," Clyde remarked.

"Actually, not bad!" the Doctor agreed, before shaking his head, getting back to topic, "He's an eternal exile who exists to wreak havoc."

"But we can fight him," the Professor added, "The six of us, and we can win."

"Oh!" the Doctor snatched the sonic out of her hands as she got it to a setting that it beeped on, "Ha! That's it! Time trace! Just a hint of Sarah Jane. Oh, she's close."

~8~

The Doctor stood on top of the sofa, his sonic up, listening to the beeping as the Professor and the children watched him.

Rani shivered, "What was that? Felt like someone just walked over my grave."

The Doctor aimed his sonic at her and it started to beep very fast. He jumped off the chair, "Oh!" he walked forward slowly, the sonic flat in his hand as he followed the beeping, "Oh! She's here! She's here!" the beeping sped up, "Sarah!"

"Sarah Jane," Rani whispered, "She doesn't like being called Sarah."

"She does by me."

"There!" the Professor pointed as a ghostly figure of Sarah Jane ran past the door before them.

"K9!" the Doctor ran over to it with K9.

"Scanning master!" K9 confirmed.

"Doctor!" a faint echo reached them.

"Mum!" Luke ran over to the door where the aliens were.

"That was her!" Clyde's eyes widened.

"K9, I sent you the time trace," the Doctor told the dog.

"Affirmative master."

There was another echo, a door slamming.

"K9!" the Doctor called as the sonic beep started to slow.

"Temporal schism divided in two master," K9 assessed.

"Yes, of course!" he patted the dog's head.

"We're trapped here in 3.23.23," the Professor turned to the children, explaining it, "And Sarah Jane's trapped too, but in another second."

"Hold on," Clyde frowned, crossing his arms, "You said you'd explain later, well, it's later…please explain."

"The Trickster doesn't want us helping Sarah," the Professor explained, very irritated by that. She had a soft spot for Sarah Jane Smith ever since she'd helped rescue her from the Krillitanes. She didn't want anything bad to happen to the nice woman, the kind woman who had offered her a home should she not be welcome in the TARDIS. She was very angry with herself for not being able to do more to help, to protect the woman, "He's separated us. Trapped us in two different seconds. Divide and conquer."

"Doctor!" an echo shouted above them, "Professor!"

They looked up, "Oh, she's upstairs," the Doctor realized, running towards the stairs, "Come on!"

The Professor turned to the children, "Luke, K9, watch for the TARDIS, you see it coming back shout the place down."

"Orders accepted mistress," K9 agreed.

"You two with us!" she continued, nodding at Rani and Clyde, and they were off.

"Spit spot!" the Doctor added as they ran up the stairs.

~8~

"How did we end up here again?" Rani groaned as they ran through the doors of the chapel room having just been on the second floor moments ago.

The Professor and Doctor glanced at each other, they'd ended up there because the Trickster wanted them there. That was not good, he was aware of them now.

"It's a spatial loop mixed up with a temporal loop," Clyde replied.

"How did you work that one out?" Rani looked at him.

Clyde smirked, "Well, we've been doing this for a while now…I have taken notes."

The two Time Lords turned and walked past the children, looking around the room, "Come on, come on, come on Sarah, let us find you," the Doctor murmured.

"Hang on though, this is mad…" Rani shook her head, "The Trickster, he's this all powerful immortal who wants to cause chaos throughout the stars…and he wants Sarah Jane to get  _married_? What does he get out of that?"

The Doctor glanced at them, "I have…absolutely no idea."

~8~

The Doctor was examining the fireplace when his sonic started beeping rapidly, he whipped it out, "She's here…" he looked around, walking towards the altar, "I can narrow the loop ratio…"

"Professor!" a voice shouted behind them. They spun around to see the Trickster hovering there, now in black, "So good to see you again."

The Doctor blinked and looked at the Professor in shock, "Again?"

The Professor just glared at the Trickster and stormed over to him, "What are you doing here Trickster?"

"Again?" the Doctor followed her.

"Yes," the Trickster smirked, ignoring the Time Lady for now, "I offered her a choice once, long ago."

~/~\~

_She stood in the doorway of Mayra's room in the medical facility, watching with a sad smile, tears in her eyes as her…_

_She closed her eyes and swallowed hard, no, he wasn't HER Theta any longer._

_She opened her eyes and looked on as the Doctor sat on the edge of her cousin's bed, both of them smiling down at the baby Mayra held in her arms._

_A boy._

_A little boy._

_Her godson apparently._

_She nodded her congratulations to Mayra as the woman looked up before turning and stepping out of the room. She crossed her arms, keeping the smile on her face as she walked past their families, letting them know they could go see their grandson and nephew and cousin before continuing down the hall. As soon as she rounded the corner she ran for the first stairwell she could find, racing down it to the near basement level before turning to lean against the wall, sliding down it as she openly let herself cry, careful to be quiet enough so as to not draw any attention from anyone who might be passing by the door in the hallways._

_"Poor child," someone said._

_Her head jerked up with a gasp to see a humanoid figure floating before her, no eyes, sharp teeth, wearing a white robe and hood. Her eyes narrowed, "Trickster."_

_She'd read about him. She'd written the thesis she'd used for her application to the Academic program on him._

_"What do you want?" she glared at him. This wasn't typical of him, from what she knew, he usually only appeared before those who were dying or on the brink of death to offer them a choice that would change the course of history, and she was neither dying nor on the brink of death though she certainly felt like it._

_"To ease your suffering," he replied simply, his voice soothing, "I could feel it, across time and space, calling out to me, begging me to take it away…that exquisite pain…"_

_She shook her head, getting up, "I want nothing to do with you," she told him, storming past him towards the stairs, "Whatever you've come to offer, I want no part of it."_

_"Even if I could give you your deepest desire?" he called after her, but she continued on, "Even if I could give you the Doctor's hearts?"_

_She stopped short, tensing._

_The Trickster grinned, "I could you know," he floated over to her on the next landing, "I could take you back, to the night you held your tongue, none of that crossing your own timeline rubbish your people spew…there would be no danger to time…no laws broken…"_

_She looked down, tears in her eyes, as she remembered that night, the night she'd seen him speaking with Mayra, the light in her cousin's eyes, how she'd walked over to join them only for Mayra to pull her off and excitedly jabber about her upcoming rendezvous with the handsome Doctor, how she'd bit her tongue and told her she was happy for her, agreed to tell her more about him after the night was over…_

_"You could have him," the Trickster continued, seeing the emotions play across her eyes, "You could tell him…"_

_She closed her eyes tightly, shaking her head, "No."_

_"He would be with you and not her," the Trickster tried again, "It could be YOU in that room with him, holding your child…"_

_She swallowed hard, shaking at the temptation._

_"But that's just it," she said resolutely, "I am NOT the one in that room and that is NOT my child. But it IS HIS child. I will not take away his son's life, not for myself, no matter what. Now go!" she walked towards him, batting him away, "Go away! Leave me alone!"_

_The Trickster faded, knowing he'd lost his chance at manipulating her, and she sagged back against the wall, heartbroken that what she'd said was true, that was NOT her child, but not regretting for a moment that she hadn't taken his son away from him._

~/~\~

"That was almost 500 years ago Trickster," she spat, shaking her head out of her thoughts.

"500…" the Doctor frowned, thinking back.

"Are you not going to tell your Bonded?" the Trickster grinned, smug.

The Professor's jaw tensed but she sighed, "When your son was born," she told the Doctor quietly, "He," she nodded at the Trickster, "Apparently could 'sense my pain and heartbreak' and offered me the choice to go back and tell you I loved you before you met Mayra."

The Doctor stared at her in shock, "You said no…"

"Of course I said no," she looked at him, "No matter how much it hurt to see you and Mayra in a child, you loved him. I could  _never_  destroy something you loved."

He blinked, his hearts both aching and bursting from her words.

"I have been waiting a long time to meet your beloved face-to-face," the Trickster told her, snapping the Doctor out of his thoughts and reminding him of the danger at hand, "At last Doctor. I could feel this moment reverberating back through the ages, meeting, the Pantheon of Discord and the last of the Time Lords…" he gave them a mock bow.

"I've known the legends of the Pantheon since I was a little boy," he remarked, "We've fought your shadows and your changelings. I never thought we'd actually meet."

"And miss the opportunity to meet the infamous Doctor, the man of ice and fire, who walked among gods, once held the key to time in his hands," he smirked, "I think not. To see him now, surrounded by children…"

"They're our friends," the Doctor glared at him, "Which reminds me. You're looking a bit lonely for a pantheon."

"I embody multitudes."

"Oh…"

"But for you, the ones who lost everyone else to talk to me of loneliness…that will not save you, not when the Gate is waiting for you both…"

"What do you mean?" the Professor's eyes narrowed as she tensed.

The Trickster laughed but ignored her, "Sarah Jane Smith is my prize. You knew Doctor. Didn't realize how wonderful she is…"

"What do you want with Sarah?" she demanded.

"What I've always wanted for many of those I visit, their agreement. Goodbye Professor…Doctor…"

And with that, he disappeared.

"Agreement…" the Professor muttered, before her eyes widened and she turned to the Doctor, "Doctor, her agreement!"

"The power of words…" he realized, "She says 'I do!' Yes! That's it!"

"That's what?" Clyde shook his head.

"She promises to love and honor her husband," the Doctor began to explain excitedly, "Wedding ring goes on…then she's agreed to it and she's totally under the Trickster's power. Marital bliss. But she forgets all about this. She starts leading a new life."

"Forgetting about her old life," Rani gasped, "Protecting the Earth!"

"And the planet's wide open so that aliens can just barge in," Clyde frowned.

"Without Sarah, without you, saving the world from your attic," the Professor turned to them seriously, "It would be chaos and destruction. Food and drink to the Trickster."

And that was why the Trickster had made her that offer. There was more to it than simply easing her pain, she knew now. She'd often wondered why the Trickster had offered her that choice, there seemed to be no gain for him at the time. What could come of the Doctor having a child by her or Mayra? What difference would it make? Now she knew, quite a big difference. If she and the Doctor had Bonded, had had a child, instead of him Uniting to Mayra and having a son with her, he NEVER would have left Gallifrey. He NEVER would have had all the adventures he'd had, saved the planets and the lives he had, all the chaos that had been stopped by his actions would have only grown, making the Trickster nearly invincible, thriving on it.

"That's if she's gonna say yes," Clyde remarked.

"Which she will won't she?" the Doctor reasoned, "Because we're here."

A low wheezing that was unmistakably the TARDIS sprang up again, drawing the Doctor and Professor's attention. They turned around and ran towards the wall where a blue haze appeared.

"TARDIS!" he beamed as it became more pronounced, "Beautiful yes! It's honing in on me!"

"Emergency program protecting the pilot," the Professor nodded.

"Of course! That's materialization!"

"What's happening?" Luke ran in with K9.

The Doctor pulled him back, holding out his arms so the children wouldn't get hurt.

"Look!" the Professor pointed at the electricity crackling around it, "Pure Artron Energy!"

"TARDIS power," the Doctor beamed, "Equal enough to Trickster's power. That's how we can fight!"

The TARDIS solidified, the energy streaming around its edges. The aliens ran to the doors, managing to unlock them, and shove them open to get inside. But the winds started up again, the TARDIS wanting to take off now that her pilot and his Bonded were safe, but they held the doors open, reaching out to the children.

Clyde reached out his hand and grabbed the Doctor's, trying to pull the rest of the kids with him when the wind shoved the Doctor and Professor back, slamming the door shut before Clyde could be pulled in with them. The poor boy slammed into the door moments before it disappeared.

~8~

"Sarah!" the Doctor shouted, shoving the TARDIS door open to see Sarah Jane and Peter standing before the altar.

Sarah Jane gasped and ran over to them, "Doctor! Professor!"

"Got to be quick. TARDIS can't stabilize."

"Clyde is keeping the Trickster distracted," the Professor called from the console where she was trying to keep the TARDIS locked in place.

"Oh those three are just brilliant!" the Doctor beamed at Sarah Jane.

"What can I do?" Sarah Jane begged them, in tears, "If I say no, we're trapped here forever, if I say yes, I condemn the world to the Trickster. Either way I lose, there's no way out."

"It all rests with you Sarah. Your greatest challenge. The hardest thing you'll ever face in your life."

"What is it? Tell me what I've got to do."

The Doctor looked at her sadly, "You've fought the Trickster before, you know how he operates…how he can be defeated…" his gaze flickered to Peter.

"No…" she breathed, looking back at Peter as well. She shook her head sorrowfully, "No…"

"We know you're a good man peter," the Doctor called to him, "We're so sorry."

"I can't hold it!" the Professor shouted.

Suddenly electricity crackled by the wall and someone screamed in pain. Sarah Jane spun around to see Clyde and the Trickster appear, hands locked, Artron Energy shooting through them.

"Clyde!" Sarah Jane gasped as the boy collapsed.

The TARDIS doors slammed shut and the TARDIS disappeared.

~8~

Sarah Jane knelt on the floor, Clyde in her arms, the Trickster defeated by Peter who had taken back the offer the Trickster had made him on the brink of his death, the offer to meet the perfect woman for him, her, when the Time Lords burst through the doors of the chapel room with Luke and Rani, "Mum!" Luke ran to her side as Rani knelt down to check Clyde.

The Doctor and Professor ran past him, dropping down on either side of Sarah Jane.

"Doctor!" she wept as he pulled her into a hug, the Professor placing a hand on the woman's shoulder, "Professor…"

"My Sarah Jane," the Doctor murmured, "You did it, the trap's broken, time's moving forwards again…" the room started to shake once more, "We're going home!"

"Hold on!" Luke shouted.

"We're all going home!"

The bright light appeared once more…

~8~

The TARDIS materialized in Sarah Jane's attic, startling her and the children as they gathered there after the wedding had been called off to comfort Sarah Jane in her heartbreak. They hadn't expected the Time Lords to return after they disappeared when time had restored.

"Doctor!" Sarah Jane gasped as the door opened.

"What do you take us for Sarah?" the Doctor asked as he popped out to see her standing there, teary eyed, "We just thought we'd go the quick way."

"I wanted to wait," the Professor added, recalling the Doctor's drive to get to Sarah Jane's home to see her and not make a big scene at the chapel, "He's just impatient."

The Doctor rolled his eyes at her and looked around, "Oh, I like it in here! Not as big as the TARDIS mind you, but cozy."

"Can we have a look?" Rani asked, breathless

"What in the TARDIS?" he frowned as they nodded excitedly, "My TARDIS?" their expressions faded at his semi-angry tone, "Course you can, yeah," he grinned, having been joking. He stepped aside, letting the children run in. Sarah Jane walked up quietly, watching as the children ran around the room in wonder.

"Oh…wow!" Clyde grinned, "It really is, isn't it? It's bigger on the inside?"

"It's beautiful!" Rani breathed.

"Transcendental dimensions," Luke nodded.

"Oh, what does this do?" Clyde asked, reaching for a button on the console.

"Hey, don't touch," Sarah Jane called before turning to the two Time Lords, "You came all that way, for me."

"You're  _so_  important," the Doctor told her, "And not just to me."

"To me as well," the Professor added, making the Doctor beam, especially when she stepped forward and hugged the woman tightly for a few moments before pulling away, "To them," she nodded at the children, "To the Earth, to the Universe I'd say"

"Trickster wanted to end your story. But it goes on. The things you've done Sarah, they're pretty impressive, but oh, the things you're gonna do!"

"The future…" Luke breathed, "How 'bout we could go for a ride?"

"Or back to the dinosaurs yeah?" Clyde asked.

"Another planet?" Rani looked at them, hopeful.

"No way!" Sarah Jane shook her head, "For one thing, you are grounded by the Judoon…"

The kids groaned.

"Be thankful it's not probation," the Professor told them with a small smile.

"And your parents would never forgive me," Sarah Jane added, "Go on…" the three children quietly walked out of the TARDIS, leaving the aliens and Sarah Jane to talk. She turned back to them, "Is this the last time I'm ever going to see you?"

"We don't know," the Professor frowned.

"But we hope not!" the Doctor grinned.

Sarah Jane nodded, "Bye Doctor, Professor…until the next time."

"Don't forget us Sarah Jane," the Doctor called as she moved to leave.

Sarah Jane turned to look at them over her shoulder, "No one's ever going to forget  _you_."

They smiled softly, watching as she walked out of the TARDIS and shut the door behind her before turning and disappearing into the Vortex.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're starting to finish sentences again, yay! This adventure with Sarah Jane and the children will definitely be a good thing for the Professor :) I think this was just what she needed, a trip with familiar people, someone equally as important to her and the Doctor as Sarah Jane is, and children.
> 
> The flashback was a bit sad, I know, I really felt for the Professor, even more when she realized WHY the Trickster wanted to make her that offer...but...next chapter, will involve a cute, and slightly ridiculous, flashback involving the Doctor, a kitten, a ball of string, and, quite possibly, the defiance of the laws of physics ^-^
> 
> And we've gotten our last hint about who is going to regenerate or not, who do you think it'll be?


	4. The Waters of Mars

The Doctor and Professor stepped out of the TARDIS in their spacesuits, one taken from their time on Kroptor, complete with the helmet Ida had left behind, and the second from when McDonnell's spaceship was crashing into the sun. They looked around at the surface of the planet before them, the Doctor grinning broadly.

"The Red Planet," he breathed.

"If only Donna could see you now," the Professor joked a bit, nudging him, "Martian."

He laughed and they set off to explore. They walked a short distance away, stopping on a small ledge, "Oh, beautiful!" he shouted, looking down at a base. It seemed like a large dome with six tunnels attached to it, connected to five smaller domes and a rocket.

Just then, the Professor stiffened as a device was pressed into her back. The Doctor grabbed her hand to keep her from reacting, even though he knew her weapon was hidden inside her suit.

"Rotate, slowly," a robotic voice demanded. They put their hands up and turned to see a small robot, holding a gun at them, "You are under arrest for trespassing. Gadget-gadget."

~8~

"State your name, rank, and intention," an older blond woman demanded, holding a gun to them as they stood inside the base.

"The Doctor," he began, "Doctor. Fun."

"The Professor," she continued, slightly tense, "Professor. Education."

Just then a door opened and a man ran in, "What the hell?" he ran down the steps towards them, "It's people! People on Mars!" he stared, "How?"

A young German woman held up their spacesuits, the Professor's blaster lying on top of them. Apparently this group was far more cautious and the perception filter hadn't worked, they'd spotted it, "They were wearing these things. I have never seen anything like it."

"What did Mission Control say?"

"They're out of range for ten hours with the solar flares."

"If we could cut the chat, everyone," the older woman glared at them.

"Actually, chat's second on my list," the Doctor cut in, "The first being gun, pointed at our heads. Which then puts our heads second and chat third, I think," he looked at the Professor, "Gun, heads, chat, yeah. I hate lists."

"I know," she muttered.

He turned back to the older woman, "But you could hurt someone with that, just...put it down."

"Oh, you'd like that," the woman glared.

"Can you find me someone who wouldn't?"

"Why should I trust either of you?"

"Because we give you our word," the Professor stated calmly as she looked the woman dead in the eyes, knowing how important eye contact was for something like this, "And, 40 million miles away from home, our word is all you have."

The woman eyed her a moment longer, before lowering the gun, "Keep Gadget covering them."

A young man with heavy gloves, standing beside the robot, nodded.

"Gadget-gadget!" the robot agreed.

"Oh, right, so you control that thing?" the Doctor eyed him, "Auto-glove response?"

"You got it," he moved his hand to the right, "To the right..."

"Gadget-gadget!" it moved right.

"And to the left."

Gadget moved left.

"It's rather flimsy," the Professor glanced at the robot and the young man glared at her.

"Gadget-gadget!"

"Does it have to keep saying that?" the Doctor nearly whined.

"I think it's funny," the man defended.

"I hate funny robots."

"Excuse me, boss," another woman came over the comm., "Computer log says we've got two extra persons on site. How's that possible?"

"Keep the Bio-dome closed," the older woman ordered, "And when using open comms. you call me Captain."

"Yeah, but...who is it?"

The woman disconnected the radio.

"They can't be a World State flight, we'd know about it," another older man stated, eyeing them critically, "Therefore, they've got to be one of the independents, yeah? Was it the Branson inheritance lot? They've talked about a Mars shot for years."

"Right, yes, ok, you got us," the Doctor nodded, "So I'm the Doctor, she's the Professor, and you are?"

"Oh, come on," the older woman scoffed, "We're the first off-world colonists in history. Everyone on planet Earth knows who we are."

"The first?" the Professor looked around, complexly startled that she hadn't even noticed, "Then…this is..."

"Bowie Base One," she and the older woman said at once.

"Number One?" the Doctor gaped, "Founded July 1st, 2058. Established Bowie Base One in the Gusev Crater...you've been here how long?"

"17 months," the woman replied.

"2059," the Professor looked at him, alarmed, "It's 2059, right now."

"Oh!" his eyes widened, "My head is so stupid, you're Captain Adelaide Brooke!"

"You're Deputy Edward Gold," the Professor looked at the other older man.

"Tarak Ital, MD," the Doctor turned to the Indian looking man.

"Nurse Yuri Kerenski," the Professor eyed the Russian male.

"Senior Technician Steffi Ehrlich," the Doctor glanced at the German woman.

"Junior Technician Roman Groom," the Professor looked at the young man by Gadget.

"Geologist Mia Bennett," the Doctor eyed the young Asian woman sadly, "You're only 27 years old."

"Scooti was 20…" the Professor frowned, recalling the black hole.

"As I said," Adelaide rolled her eyes, though she was a bit perturbed at how they seemed to switch off speaking, "Everyone knows our names."

"Oh, they'll never forget them," the Doctor frowned, before turning to the Professor, "What's the date, today? What is it? Tell me the exact date."

"November 21st 2059," the Professor said quietly.

This was the day the Bowie Base exploded and all the crew died.

"Right," he swallowed hard, "Ok, fine."

"Is there something wrong?" Steffi asked.

"What's so important about my age?" Mia frowned.

"We should...go," the Doctor looked at the Professor.

She nodded, "We  _really_  should go."

He nodded as well and turned to the crew, "We're sorry. We're sorry with all of our hearts, but…"

"It's one of those very rare times when we've got no choice," she finished, moving to shake their hands as did the Doctor, "It's been an honor."

"Seriously, a...very great honor to meet you all. The Martian Pioneers. Oh, thank you. Ah!" he tapped Gadget.

"Gadget-gadget."

"Thank you," he stopped suddenly, "There's the other two. Hold on...Margaret Cain and Andrew Stone."

"Maggie..." Ed called over the comm., "If you want to meet the only new human beings that you're gonna see in the next five years, better come take a look."

A loud snarling was all they got over the feed.

"What was that?" Mia gasped.

"We  _really_  should go," the Professor tensed, already assessing the snarl. It was something alien, but with human undertones. Much like the Doctor when the ship was heading for the sun…something had taken over Andy Stone.

"This is Central," Ed tried again, "Bio-dome report immediately."

"Show me the Bio-dome," Adelaide walked over to look at the computer.

Ed brought up the security footage but static appeared, "Internal cameras are down."

"Show me the exterior," he pulled up the camera feed and they watched the lights go out in the Bio-dome, "I'm going over. Doctor, Professor, with me."

"Yeah..." he shook his head, "We're sorry, er...we'd love to help, but we're leaving, right now."

"Take their spacesuits, lock them up," she ordered Steffi, "This started as soon as you arrived, so you're not going anywhere, except with me."

~8~

The Doctor, Professor, Adelaide, and Tarak walked down a dark corridor, the only light from their torches along with a few dimly lit up on the walls and one from Gadget behind them.

"What's so important about Mia's age?" Adelaide asked, glancing at them, "You said she's only 27, why does it matter, what did you mean?"

"Oh, I just...open my mouth and words come out," he mumbled, "They don't make much sense."

"Unless you speak Doctor," the Professor remarked, earning a little smile from the Doctor.

"You're telling me," Tarak muttered.

"Thank you, doctor," the Doctor glanced back at him.

"Any time, Doctor."

"Gadget-gadget!"

"I hate robots," the Doctor frowned, "Did I say?"

"Yeah, and he's not too fond of you," Roman's voice came over the comm., "What's wrong with robots?"

"It's not the robots, it's the people. Dressing them up and giving them silly voices, like you're reducing them."

"Yeah. Friend of mine, she made her domestic robot look like a dog."

"Ah, well, dogs, that's different."

"But I adapted Gadget out of the worker drones. Those things are huge! They built this place when the shell was lowered down from orbit. They've got a strength capacity of..."

"The channel is open for essential communications only," Adelaide cut in.

"Sorry…love those drones."

The Professor looked at Adelaide, studying her a moment, "I've read so much about you, Captain Adelaide. But one thing they never said, was it worth it? The mission?"

"We've got excellent results from the soil analysis," she remarked.

"I meant all of it. They said you sacrificed everything, devoted your whole life to get here."

"It's been chaos back home. 40 long years, the climate, the ozone, the oil apocalypse. We almost reached extinction. And to fly above that, to stand on a world with no smoke, where the only straight line is the sunlight…yes. It's worth it."

The Doctor grinned at that, "Ah! That's the Adelaide Brooke we always wanted to meet. The woman with starlight in her soul."

"What's that?" Adelaide stopped suddenly, her light falling to a body lying on the floor, "It's Maggie!"

They ran over to her, dropping down beside her, "Don't touch her!" the Doctor warned, grabbing the Professor's hand to keep her from touching the black woman to scan her.

"I know the procedure," Tarak scoffed.

' _And I'm not stupid,_ ' she added in his mind, ' _I know there's something infecting them,_ ' he looked at her sharply, ' _Andy Stone's voice patterns._ '

He nodded.

"Maggie, can you hear me?" Tarak tried to rouse her, "It's Tarak. Maggie?" he rolled her over, "It's ok. She's still breathing. She's alive," the Doctor and Professor looked towards the Bio-dome as Tarak called up the comm., "Yuri, I've got Margaret Cain, head trauma. I need a full med-pack."

"I've got it," Yuri called back, "Med-pack on its way."

A few moments later Ed and Yuri were both running down the corridor towards them, Yuri with the med-pack and a backboard.

"Do  _not_  touch her, use the gloves," the Professor warned them.

"Do what she says," Tarak nodded, "Get her to sickbay. Put her in isolation."

"We're going to the Bio-dome," Adelaide added, "Tarak, with me, Yuri can take care of her. Ed, go back. Gadget, stand guard. Keep an eye on this area."

"Gadget-gadget!"

"Captain, you're gonna need me," Ed turned to her, "Andy's the only other crew member out here and if that wasn't an accident, then he's gone wild."

"You've deserted your post," Adelaide gave him a hard look, "Consider that an official warning. Now, get back to work. Doctor! Professor!" she turned and headed off, leaving the two aliens little choice but to follow.

Just as they reached the airlock doors that would lead to the Bio-dome, Steffi came over the comm., "Captain. That sound we heard from the Bio-dome, I've run it through diagnostics. According to the computer, it's...it's Andy," the Doctor glanced at the Professor and they both nodded, it was confirmed now, "It registers as the voice-print of Andy Stone."

"Understood. Double-check, thanks."

"Air pressure stabilized," Tarak reported as he opened the doors and they stepped into the dome cautiously.

"Andrew? Andrew Stone? It's Captain Brooke. Andy, report. I need to see you. Where are you?"

The Professor reached into the Doctor's coat and pulled out the sonic, flashing the computer nearby, turning the lights on, "There you go," she flipped it over in her hand and tossed it back to the Doctor who laughed a bit at her actions.

"What's that device?"

"Screwdriver," the Doctor answered, putting it away.

"Are you the Professor or the Janitor?"

"I'm the Professor of many things," she stated, "Janitorial studies might be in there somewhere."

"The maintenance woman of the Universe," the Doctor joked.

"Well I've got plenty of experience cleaning up after your messes."

"Oi! I'm not THAT bad."

"Exploding hens in 1969," she stated, proving her point.

"That only happened once," he grumbled.

But the sad thing was, that wasn't even the most ridiculous mess he'd ever gotten himself into.

~/~\~

_"Sorry it took so long," she called, walking back into her room, a bag over her shoulder with a few rather large books in her arms, "I just wanted to get a few books from the library on kit…" she trailed off in the middle of moving to set the books down on her desk as something caught her eye and her mouth dropped open._

_Her entire room was a disaster zone made almost entirely of string. It was crisscrossed off the walls everywhere, like a giant webbed field, tangled in itself, somehow managing to snag some of her belonging in midair, stuck in the crossings of the string._

_"What…" she breathed, stunned._

_"Um, a little help?" a voice called above her._

_"Theta?" she blinked, not quite sure if he was truly stuck to her ceiling, somehow tied up in the tangle of string, or if she were imagining it, "How…"_

_"It was all his fault!" he nodded towards her bed, where the little tiny gray kitten she'd found wandering the halls of the Academy was curled up on her pillow, sleeping away._

_"How was it HIS fault?" she asked, her shock dissipating into amusement, "Theta, he doesn't even have thumbs!"_

_"I don't know!" he retorted, pouting._

_She shook her head, "I told you to just keep an eye on him, let him play with that ball of string I found, not…" she gestured at her room, "Whatever this is…"_

_"I know that Kata," he rolled his eyes, "And I WAS keeping an eye on him. He's a demon cat!"_

_"He's a kitten," she corrected, shaking her head at him, "Alright, let's just say that it's perfectly normal for a kitten to somehow be able to make a ball of string explode into…this…but how on Earth did you end up on the ceiling?"_

_He dropped his head, "I honestly cannot answer that."_

_She smiled softly, "Say that again?"_

_"Oh ha ha Kata," he narrowed his eyes at her. She was always commenting on how he always seemed to have an answer or retort to everything, even if what he said didn't make sense half the time, "Funny. Now get me down."_

_She paused, seeming to be considering that, "No."_

_"No?"_

_"No," she repeated with a grin, "You managed to get yourself up there…somehow…you should be able to get yourself down."_

_"But…but…but…"_

_"Honestly Theta, what if, one day, I'm not there to help you? Then where would you be?"_

_He blinked, a small frown on his face, "But…you'll ALWAYS be there."_

_She blinked and had to smile at that, recalling the promise they had made nearly three centuries ago, "Oh alright."_

_She sighed and looked around the room, eyeing the different strands of string and where they were all connected and stuck to, "Got it!" she smiled, picking up a small cutting device from a jar on her desk. She maneuvered her way through the string and over to one by her headboard._

_"No, wait, don't!" he shouted._

_But she just reached out and snipped the string…_

_And he fell right off the ceiling and landed squarely on her bed, making the poor kitten half leap into the air in alarm before jumping off the bed and racing over to her legs, hiding behind them._

_"Ow…" he moaned, rolling over onto his back._

_She tried her very best not to let the giggle bubbling in her out, but it escaped._

_"Oh, think that's funny do you?" he eyed her, before quickly reaching out and yanking her onto the bed, tickling her until she was literally crying with laughter._

~/~\~

"If we could focus?" Adelaide cut in, "You two, stay with me, don't step out of my sight. Tarak, go to External Door South, make sure it's intact."

"Yes, ma'am," Tarak walked off, leaving them alone.

The Doctor looked around at the various plants growing as they walked through, "Quite an achievement. First flower on Mars in 10,000 years. And you're growing veg!"

"It's that lot, they're already planning Christmas dinner," she remarked, "Last year it was dehydrated protein, this year they want the real thing."

"Still, fair enough. Christmas."

"If we must."

The Doctor looked up, hearing birds chirping, "You've got birds!"

"It's part of the project, to keep the insect population down."

"Good sign," the Professor muttered, tense.

"In what way?"

"They're still alive."

"Captain?" Yuri called over the comm., "Good news. It's Maggie. She's awake, she's back with us. Hey. How are you, soldier? Just take it easy. Can you remember what happened?"

"I was just working," they heard Maggie reply, "Then I woke...woke up here."

The Professor frowned, listening to Maggie's voice before looking at the Doctor, a frown on her face as his expression grew more serious. Something was off about Maggie.

"What about Andy?" Adelaide asked her, "We can't find him. Was he alright?"

"I don't know, I just..."

"If you remember anything, let me know straightaway."

"Yuri, does she know how she ended up in the tunnel?" Ed called over.

"And keep the comms. clear. Everything goes through me, got that?"

~8~

They were about halfway through the Bio-dome when Yuri came back on the comm., "This is sickbay, we have a situation. Maggie's condition has...I don't know...I don't know what it is. It's water, just...pouring out."

"Yuri, calm down," Adelaide picked up her comm. as the Doctor and Professor shared a concerned look, "Just tell me what's happened to her."

"The skin is...sort of broken around the mouth. And she's exuding water, like she's drowning."

"Tarak, this area's unsafe, we're going back. Tarak? Tarak!"

"Where was he?" the Doctor looked around. They raced across the Bio-dome floor towards the back where Tarak had been.

Adelaide stopped short, the Professor with her as the Doctor kept going, only to run back to them as they saw Tarak, on his knees, with Andy standing over him, pouring water onto the other man's head, spraying out from his hand, his eyes white with the area around his mouth cracked.

"Andy, just leave him alone," the Doctor called quietly as they approached, the Professor tensing with every step, cursing the fact that she didn't have her blaster on her.

"Step away from him," Adelaide raised her gun.

"We can help. I promise, we can help. Just leave that man alone."

"I order you to stop!"

"Andy, we're asking you, please just take your hand away from him and listen to us."

"Stop, or I'll shoot!"

Andy looked at them and stopped, pulling his hand away, and Tarak collapsed to the ground.

"There now, that's better," the Doctor eyed him cautiously, "Hmm? So, you must be Andy," he tried to move slowly towards him but the Professor firmly held him back, "Hello."

Tarak sat up and turned to them, his eyes white like Andy's, "We've got to go," the Professor told them, "Now!"

They turned and ran back to the airlock, Andy and Tarak chasing after them. Adelaide ran in first as the Doctor and Professor quickly closed the doors.

"Set the seals at maximum!" the Professor shouted to her.

Adelaide quickly did as she was told, sealing the door just as Andy raised his arm and shot water at them. The Doctor jumped back from it, the Professor watching ridgidly as Andy approached, looking at them through the window, before pounding on it.

"Captain, we need you back here," Yuri called over the comm..

"Just tell me that Maggie is contained," Adelaide replied, "Can you confirm, Ed?"

"Confirmed," Ed reported, "She's locked in."

"Keep surveillance till I get back. And close down all water supplies. All pipes and outlets, don't consume anything. Have you got that, everyone? That's an order. Don't drink the water. Don't even touch it. Not one drop."

"Can you talk?" the Doctor asked Andy.

"Human beings are 60 percent water, which makes them the perfect host," the Professor reasoned.

"What for?" Adelaide asked.

"We don't know," the Doctor glanced at her.

"And we never will..." the Professor agreed, "Because we have  _got_  to  _go_."

"Whatever's started here, we can't see it to the end. We  _can't_."

Andy slammed his hands against the door and Tarak joined him, both of them opening their mouths and shooting water at the seals.

"This thing's airtight, yeah?" the Doctor asked.

"And therefore watertight," Adelaide nodded.

"That depends on how clever the water is," the Professor muttered as the control panel sparked.

"They're fusing the system!"

"Abandon ship!" the Doctor called.

Adelaide opened the door to the corridor and ran down it, the Doctor and Professor closing it and following, just as Andy and Tarak made it through the other door and began to chase them. The Doctor skidded to a halt before Gadget.

"Doctor, we haven't got time!" Adelaide turned to him.

"They can run faster than us," the Professor glanced at her.

"We need a lift!" the Doctor agreed, sonicing the robot.

"Gadget-gadget."

The Professor crouched beside him, helping him cross some wires before they both jumped up and climbed onto Gadget.

"Get on behind us!" the Doctor told Adelaide.

"That thing goes at two miles an hour!" she countered.

"Not anymore! Trust us!" he held out a hand and Adelaide took it, jumping on.

"Gadget-gadget!"

"Gadget-gadget!" the Doctor agreed, starting him up. Gadget took off, flames shooting out from the exhaust, leaving two trails of flames as Tarak and Andy chased after them.

The Professor jumped off the robot as it reached the end of the tunnel and opened the door for them. Adelaide ran to the control panel, "The Central Dome airlocks have got Hardinger seals. There's no way they can get in."

The Doctor stopped and turned in the doorway, calling to Gadget, "Come on, come on!"

"Gadget-gadget."

"I thought you hated robots!" Adelaide remarked.

"I do!"

Gadget rolled forward, getting inside the door just enough for the Professor to slam it shut behind it. Andy and Tarak ran into the doors, trying to get through.

"We're safe," Adelaide breathed, "It's hermetically sealed. They can't get in."

"Water is patient," the Professor shook her head, "Water waits. It wears down the cliff tops, the mountains, the whole of the world. Water  _always_  wins."

"Come on!" the Doctor shouted and they ran through the door.

Adelaide grabbed her comm., "Bio-dome tunnel is out of bounds. Andy and Tarak are infected, repeat, infected. Make no contact. And if they make any move, tell me. I'm going to the Medical Dome."

She strode along the tunnel, heading for the dome, "Blimey, it's a distance," the Doctor commented, "You could do with bikes in this place."

"Every pound in weight equals three tons of fuel," the Professor reminded him.

"Yeah, I know, but bikes…"

Adelaide merely shrugged and walked into the Medical Dome, the duo behind her. Ed was there, watching Maggie as she stood at the window of the isolation room, while Yuri ran around the computers, checking her scans.

"Has that door got a Hardinger seal?" Adelaide eyed the door a few feet away from Maggie.

"No, just basic," Ed replied.

"Then the moment she heads for the door, we evacuate. Got that?"

"Pulse is low. Electrical activity in the brain seems to be going haywire."

"Can she talk?"

"Don't know," Yuri remarked as the Professor and Doctor went to stand by the window and look at her, noting her blackened eyes, the dried, cracked area around her mouth despite the fact it dripped water, "She was before we noticed the change, but..."

"Maggie?" Adelaide turned to her, "Can you hear me? Do you know who I am? Your commanding officer, Captain Adelaide Brooke. Can you tell me what happened?"

Maggie just turned her head to look at the Doctor and Professor.

"Hoorghwall in schtochman ahn warrellinsh och fortabellan iin hoorgwahn," the Doctor asked.

"What language is that?" Ed frowned.

"Ancient North Martian."

"Don't be ridiculous," Adelaide scoffed.

"It's like she recognized it," Yuri remarked.

"Sllitsdzoo rm hxsglxsnzm zsn dziivoormhs lxs uligzyvoozm rrm sllitdzsm," the Professor tried, not even stumbling over the harsh pronunciations.

"And that?" Ed eyed her.

"Ancient South Martian."

Maggie just looked at her intently, "Zsn Dziivoormhs."

Yuri gasped as she answered.

The Doctor and Professor exchanged a look, that didn't really answer their questions.

"Look at her eyes," the Professor remarked, her eyes narrowing as she looked at Maggie, "They're clear, she appears to be more human."

"Not enough for me," Ed muttered.

The Doctor turned to Adelaide, "Where do you get your water from?"

"The ice field," she replied, "That's why we chose the crater, we're on top of an underground glacier."

"Tons of water. Marvelous."

"But every single drop is filtered," Yuri shook his head, "It's screened, it's safe."

"Looks like it, yeah," he scoffed.

"If something was frozen down there," Ed frowned, "A viral life form, held in the ice for all those years..."

"Look at her mouth," the Professor continued, assessing the woman through the glass, "All blackened…she's developed some sort of fission. This thing doesn't just hide in water, it CREATES water."

The Doctor stiffened and turned to Maggie, "Tell us what you want."

"She was looking at the screen, at Earth," Yuri called, "She wanted Earth. A world full of water."

"Captain, with me," Ed nodded off to the side, walking a few feet away with Adelaide following, neither noticed the Doctor glance at the Professor who nodded, listening in, her senses being sharper, and relaying their conversation to him silently, "I'm sorry, but it's an unknown infection and it's spreading. That demands Action Procedure One."

"You think I don't know that?" Adelaide glared.

"I think you need reminding."

"Yeah."

"Well, at least I'm good for something."

"Now and again."

"That's almost a compliment. Things must be serious."

"Sorry, sorry," the Doctor cut in, "But...Action One, that means evacuation, yeah?"

"We're going home," Adelaide nodded before lifting her comm., "This is Captain Brooke. I'm declaring Action One, repeat to all crewmembers, this is Action One, with immediate effect. Evacuate the base. Steffi, what's your estimate on shuttle viability?"

"It's a nine month flight, it'll take three hours to load what we need," Steffi replied.

"You've got 20 minutes. And give me a report on Andy and Tarak."

"Still in the Bio-dome tunnel. They're just standing there, like they're waiting."

"Keep an eye on them. And make that 20 minutes 15! Ed, line up the shuttle, go straight to ignition status."

"Doing it now," Ed ran out of the room as Adelaide moved to gather supplies.

"But what about Maggie?" Yuri frowned.

Adelaide only continued packing, "She stays behind. We've got no way to contain her on board. Close this place down. I want the power directed to the shuttle."

The Doctor watched with a sad, resigned look on his face. The Professor, seeing it, sighed and looked at Adelaide, she found that, while she now felt grim at giving out blunt news, she was better able to get it across than the Doctor, and she knew making him bring up this point would break his hearts, "The only problem is..."

"Thank you," Adelaide cut in, "Your spacesuits will be returned. And good luck to you."

"The problem is, this thing is clever," she continued, "It didn't infect the birds or the insects in the Bio-dome, it  _chose_  the humans. You were chosen. And I told you, Adelaide, water can wait. Tarak changed straight away, but when Maggie was infected it stayed hidden inside her, there is no doubt it intended to infiltrate the Central Dome. Which means..."

"Any one of us could already be infected…we've all been drinking the same water."

"And if you take that back to Earth..."

"But we're only  _presuming_  infection. If we can find out how this thing got through,  _when_  it got through...Yuri, continue with Action One. I'm going to inspect the ice field," she turned and ran out the door.

The Doctor stood there, hands in his pockets as he looked at the Professor, "Right. We should leave. Finally, we should leave."

She nodded, "There is no point in us seeing the ice field."

He crossed his arms, "No point at all."

"No," she agreed, hoping that he wouldn't…

"Adelaide!" he ran out of the room after the captain.

And he did.

She shook her head and followed after him, this would not be good, the longer they stayed the more attached he would grow to the people they  _couldn't_  save. They caught up with her easily enough as she headed down one of the tunnels.

"All I'm saying is bikes," he continued, "Little foldaway bikes. Don't weigh a thing."

Adelaide just pushed open the door at the end of the tunnel and ran into a room overlooking the ice fields, basically a large square hole cut into the ground through which they could chip away at the ice and melt it.

"They tell legends of Mars, from long ago, of a fine and noble race who built an empire out of snow," the Professor murmured as she looked down at the pit, "The Ice Warriors."

"I haven't got time for stories," Adelaide pushed past them.

"It's possible that they found something down there, used their might and their wisdom to freeze it."

"We need to find any sort of change in the water process," Adelaide snapped as she headed towards a computer, the two joining her, "We've got to date the infection."

The Doctor turned and tried to access one computer while Adelaide worked on another.

"Access denied," the Doctor's computer replied. The Professor turned and gently nudged him aside, working on it herself.

"You don't look like cowards," Adelaide remarked, eyeing them, "But all you've wanted to do is leave. You know so much about us."

"Well, you're famous," the Doctor muttered.

"It's like you know more."

The Doctor looked at the Professor who held his gaze for only a moment, seeing what he wanted to say in his mind. She tensed but looked down.

He swallowed hard, "This moment, this precise moment in time, it's like...I mean, it's only a theory. What do we know? But I think certain moments in time are fixed. Tiny, precious moments. Everything else is in flux, anything can happen, but those certain moments, they have to stand. This base, on Mars, with you, Adelaide Brooke, this is one vital moment. What happens here must always happen."

"Which is what?" Adelaide turned to him.

"I don't know. I think something wonderful happens, something that started 50 years ago, isn't that right?"

"I've never told anyone that…"

"You told your daughter. And maybe, one day, she tells the story to her daughter of the day the Earth was stolen and moved across the Universe. And you..."

"I saw the Daleks. We looked up, the sky had changed. Everyone was running and screaming. And my father took hold of me..." she swallowed hard, "I never saw him again. Nor my mother. They were never found. But out on the streets, there was panic and burning. I went to the window. And there in the sky...I saw it, Doctor. And it saw me. It stared at me. It looked right into me. And then...it simply went away. I knew, that night, I knew I would follow it."

"But not for revenge."

"What would be the point of that?"

He smiled, "That's what makes you remarkable. And that's how you create history."

"What do you mean?"

The Professor's jaw tensed.

"Imagine it, Adelaide," he breathed, "If you began a journey that takes the human race all the way out to the stars. It begins with you. And then your granddaughter, you inspire her so that in 30 years, Susie Fontana Brooke is the pilot of the first light-speed ship to Proxima Centauri. And then everywhere. With her children and her children's children forging the way to the Dragon Star, the Celestial Belt of the Winter Queen, the Map of the Water Snake Wormholes. One day a Brooke will fall in love with a Tandonian prince, and that's the start of a whole new species. But everything starts with you, Adelaide. From 50 years ago, to right here, today. Imagine."

"Who are you? Why are you telling me this? Doctor, why tell me?"

"As consolation," the Professor murmured quietly, knowing how hard it was for him to look the woman in the eye, knowing she was going to die and that he couldn't save her. Her computer beeped, she'd hacked the system. Andy appeared on screen, "Andy Stone. He logged on yesterday," she played it.

"Maintenance log, 21.20, November 2059," Andy reported, "Number three water filter's bust. And guess what? The spares they sent don't fit. What a surprise. Over and out," the camera shut off.

"A filter," the Doctor shook his head, "One tiny little filter and then the flood."

"But that means the infection arrived today, and the water's only cycled out of the Bio-dome after a week," Adelaide grinned, "The rest of us can't be infected. We can leave!" she quickly picked up the comm., "Ed, we're clean! How are we doing?"

"Shuttle's active, stage one!" Ed reported.

~8~

Adelaide, the Doctor, and the Professor ran back through the tunnels, "You were right, Doctor," Adelaide grinned.

"What about?"

"Bikes!"

He laughed, the Professor far more sober than him.

~8~

Adelaide handed the Doctor and Professor their suits as Yuri, Mia, Roman, and Steffi packed behind her, "Now get to your ship. I'm saving my people, you save yourselves. I know what this moment is. It's the moment we escape. Now get out."

The Professor grimly took the suits for the both of them, the Doctor now growing numb as they stood by the door and watched. Him unable to move, her unwilling to leave him.

"Come on!" Yuri called.

"How many do we need?" Steffi shouted.

"Roman, what about you?" Adelaide turned to him.

"Protein-packs 30 to 36," he pushed them into a container.

"Steffi, ditch the central containers. We don't need them."

"Units 41, 42 and 43," Steffi reported.

"Unit 41 is here," Mia called.

"I'll swap them around," Roman ran over.

"Roman try to condense the oxygen membranes, we can lose ten pounds," Adelaide ordered, "Faster! Come on! Ed, how's the fuel jets?"

"Cooling down in about 30 seconds," Ed replied as he ran in.

"What the hell's that noise? Mia, you lot, shut up," everyone quieted down, listening, till they could hear a beeping.

"It's the module sensors. Exterior as well. The cameras are down, but there's pressure on top of the module. Two signals right above us."

"That means...they're on the roof?" Steffi breathed as they all looked up.

"How did they get inside the Dome?" Roman wondered.

"They used the maintenance shafts," Ed replied.

"The shaft's open, they haven't got spacesuits," Mia reached for Yuri's hand.

"They breathe water."

"But they'd freeze," Steffi countered.

"They've got that internal fission," Yuri remarked.

"Are we safe?" Mia looked around, scared, "They can't get through, can they?" the ceiling creaked, "Can they?"

"This place is airtight!" Roman gasped.

"Can it get through?" Steffi turned to Ed, "Ed? Can it get through?"

"I don't know!" he snapped, "Water itself isn't motile, but it has some resistance."

"Everyone, listen to me!" Adelaide took charge, "That's ten feet of steel-combination up there. We need all the protein-packs or we'll starve. Now keep working!" they all got back to work, "Roman, watch the ceiling! Ed, get to the shuttle, fire it up."

"I can carry more than this lot, Captain," Ed turned to her.

"That's an order!"

"Captain," he nodded grimly, before turning to run out.

The Doctor and Professor watched a moment longer, before the Professor turned to the Doctor and held out his suit. He took it slowly before they turned and headed out the door.

~8~

The two aliens stood in their spacesuits, stepping out into the airlock, the door hissing shut behind them. The Professor reached out and pressed a button to open the door but…

"Access denied."

She tried again.

"Access denied."

"Tell me what happens," Adelaide called over the comm..

"We don't know," the Professor said.

"Yes, you do. Now tell me."

"You should be with the others."

"Tell me!" she demanded, "I could ramp up the pressure in that airlock and crush you."

"Except you won't. You could have shot us at first glance, could have shot Andy Stone too, but you didn't."

"I loved you for that," the Doctor agreed, before taking a breath, "Imagine...imagine you knew something. Imagine you found yourself somewhere, I don't know, Pompeii. Imagine you were in Pompeii."

"What the hell's that got to do with it?" Adelaide asked.

"And you tried to save them, but, in doing so, you make it happen. Anything we do just makes it happen."

"Captain, we need you right now," Steffi called.

"I'm still here," Adelaide told them a moment later.

"You're taking Action One," the Professor stated, "There are four more standard action procedures. And Action Five is..."

"Detonation."

"The final option," the Doctor nodded, "The nuclear device at the heart of the Central Dome. Today, on the 21st November 2059, Captain Brooke activates that device, taking the base and all her crew members with her. No one ever knows why. But you were saving Earth. That's what inspires your granddaughter. She takes your people out into the galaxy, because you die, on Mars. You die, today. She flies out there like she's trying to meet you."

"I won't die. I will not."

"Your death creates the future," the Professor closed her eyes, tensing.

"Help me. Why won't you help, if you know all of this? Why can't you change it?"

"We can't."

"Why can't you find a way? Tell me."

"Adelaide, I swear, we can't," the Doctor agreed, "I'm sorry, but we can't. Sometimes we can, sometimes we do. Most times, we can save someone. Or anyone. But not you. You wondered all your life why that Dalek spared you. I think it knew. Your death is fixed, in time, forever. And that's right."

The Professor flinched, recalling she had thought the same in Pompeii, nothing mattered except that the timeline was maintained. Nevermind the fact that 20,000 people burned to death as she watched, the  _timeline_  was safe. Her jaw tensed as she literally felt bile rise in her throat, she had actually thought it  _right_  that 20,000 people  _burn_...

"You'll die here too," Adelaide replied.

"No," the Professor cut in.

"What's gonna save you?"

"Captain Adelaide Brooke."

"Damn you," she hissed and there was whir as the airlock door opened.

"Water!" they heard Roman shout, "We've got water!"

Adelaide had left the comm. open.

"Captain!" Mia shrieked, "Get back! Get back! Captain! Don't touch it, Roman! Don't let it touch you!"

"Get back!" Adelaide ordered, "We're abandoning this section. Get to the shuttle! Yuri, lead the way, Section B corridor, now," there was a whoosh of a door opening and water dripping, "Close it!"

"Yuri, did that water touch you?" Steffi called.

"I'm safe," Yuri replied.

"Did it touch you? Yuri, did that water touch you?"

"I'm clean, I'm dry."

"Everyone, Section B is out," Adelaide reported, "Listen to me! Take every pack that you can. We'll go round. We'll make our way out through Section F."

"Transferring authorization, Section F," Steffi shouted, "Mia you take the redline stock! And hurry up!"

Suddenly there was the sound of water pouring.

"Steffi, go!" Yuri yelled.

"Steffi, get back!" Mia gasped.

"Get back!"

"Steffi, keep back!" Adelaide commanded.

"Get back!"

"Steffi!"

"Just get back! Steffi!"

"Get back!" Mia called.

"Just get back!" Adelaide shouted, "Hurry!"

"You'll be safer in there!"

"Just shut the door!" Roman added, "Close the door!"

There was a whoosh of the door shutting, Steffi was trapped.

"Steffi, we'll come get you, ok?" Adelaide told her, "We'll come get you! Steffi!"

"Captain!" Steffi cried.

"We'll open the access panel. We'll get you out through the back. Get her out! Move it!"

"Captain, it's inside!"

"Steffi!" Roman shouted.

"Steffi, get back!" Mia shrieked, "Steffi!"

The Doctor tensed as they stepped outside the airlock, they needed to get away.

"We're coming!" Adelaide called, "Steffi, hold on!"

"The access panel's fused, Captain," Roman reported, "We can't open it."

"We can't get through!" Yuri shouted.

"Don't!" Steffi begged, "Don't, please!"

"There's nothing we can do."

"I can't move!"

They walked quickly across the surface.

"Hallo, Mutti," a little girl's voice came on and they flinched, Steffi was a mother, "Hallo, Mars!" the little girl laughed, continuing to talk to Steffi in German.

Steffi sobbed.

"Steffi, can you hear me?" Adelaide called.

They could hear her groaning as the transformation hit.

"Oh, my God," Mia gasped.

"Out! Get out! Ed, we're going round the long way, how are we doing?"

"All systems online, 100 percent," Ed reported, "Not a single delay! Don't you worry, Captain, we are gonna fly!"

The shuttle's rockets fired as they walked away from the base.

"I need air in Section F right now," Adelaide reported.

"Locking chamber three," Yuri called, "Locking chamber four."

"Keep looking!"

"Gate five is open!" Roman shouted, "Gate six is open!"

"Quickly, come on!" Yuri yelled.

"I've got 25 to 30 lockdown," Mia reported.

"Roman, come on, with me," Adelaide commanded.

"You'd better go," Roman breathed.

"Don't just stand there, move!"

"You'd really better go without me. I'm sorry, Captain. One drop."

The Doctor closed his eyes tightly, another infected…

"Roman!" Mia screamed, "Roman!"

"Leave him, come on," Yuri grunted.

"We can't just leave him!"

"Sorry. Come on."

"Let me go!"

"I can't let you go."

"Roman!"

"I'm so sorry."

Moments later there was a groan as Ed came on, "Captain. The shuttle is down."

"What the hell do you mean?" Adelaide demanded.

"Compromised. It was Maggie."

"Get out of there!"

"Too late. They want this ship to get to Earth. Got no choice. Hated it, Adelaide. This bloody job. Oh! You never gave me a chance. You never could forgive me. See you later."

And suddenly there was a blast as the rocket exploded, knocking them to the ground. The three remaining members of the base screamed.

The Professor flinched, remembering the screams and cries of children as they ran through Pompeii.

The Doctor sat up quickly, looking back at the fires, the devastation, around them.

"We're losing oxygen!" Yuri shouted, "The hull is broken!"

The Doctor closed his eyes tightly, remembering the destruction of their people, how they were the last two left. And that was just it wasn't it? They were the  _last_  two left, who was there to punish them should they break the laws? The rest were dead, it was only them, it was  _up to_  them, and then he decided…enough.

He stood up and turned to the base when someone grabbed his arm. He spun around to see the Professor standing there.

"Don't try to stop me," he warned her, stepping back and holding up his hands to block his shoulders. She seemed to have developed a penchant for disabling him through chopping his shoulder. He was not exactly a fan of it, the pain that resided in his shoulder for days afterwards left something to be desired.

"I'm going with you," she swallowed hard, holding up her hands to show him she wasn't about to attack him.

He stared at her, lowering his arms, stunned, for an Academic to do such a thing, to change a fixed point as he was planning...especially after what she had done in Pompeii...

"I promised to stand by you regardless of what you did," she breathed, thinking back on the promise she had made herself after they brought Donna home, to support him as he had her, but it went deeper than that, "That's why I stayed beside you during the Racnoss. You want to die, that's fine, but  _I_  go with you. You want to change history..." she swallowed hard, "I'll do it too. I won't  _ever_  let you go through it alone."

He nodded and they turned back to the base.

~8~

The alarms were beeping as Yuri, Mia, and Adelaide grabbed onto what little they could to keep themselves stationed when they arrived, tossing their helmets aside.

"Mia, take this sealant," the Doctor tossed her a canister, "Fix that rig!"

"Yuri, open emergency oxygen," the Professor ordered.

"Adelaide, don't just sit there!" the Doctor helped her up as the other two got to work, "That's better!"

"The Dome's still got integrity," the Professor reported, "10 feet of steel-combination."

"Made in Liverpool," he grinned, "Magnificent workmanship!"

"It can't be stopped," Adelaide shook her head, "Don't die with us."

"No, because someone told us just recently, they said we were gonna die," the Doctor turned to her, "They said I...that he will knock four times, and I know what that means. And it doesn't mean right here, right now! 'Cos I don't hear anyone knocking, do you?"

Suddenly there were three loud bangs on the door, Andy behind it.

"Three knocks is  _all_  you are getting," the Professor twisted a knob on a computer beside her, electrifying the door and Andy as well.

"Water and electricity," the Doctor shook his head mock sadly, "Bad mix. Now then, what else have we got?"

"But there's no way to fight them!" Adelaide shouted.

"Heat," the Professor turned to him, "They use water, so we can use heat," she pressed a button on the computer, "If we can ramp up the environment controls and steam them…"

"But you said we die! For the future, for the human race."

"Yes, because there are laws," the Doctor turned to Adelaide, not noticing the Professor tensing behind him, "There are Laws of Time. Once upon a time there were people in charge of those laws, but they died. They all died. Do you know who that leaves? Me and the Professor, the two of us! It's taken me all these years to realize the Laws of Time are ours and they will obey us!"

The Professor flinched.

The base shuddered again and they were thrown to the floor. The Professor pulled herself up to check the readings, "Environment controls are down."

"Sorry, Doctor, it looks like history's got other ideas," Adelaide remarked.

The Doctor stood as well, "Not beaten yet! I'll go outside! Look at the heat regulator…" he picked up his helmet to see it was broken. The Professor's, though whole, was a different make than his suit, it wouldn't fit, and he needed her here on the computers, "No, not beaten, not beaten…"

"They should have spacesuits," the Professor called, "Probably in the next section."

"Brilliant!" he pointed at her and ran to the door, only to be stopped by the water. He turned and ran back, "We're not just fighting the flood, we're fighting time itself and we're gonna win!"

"Something's happening to the glacier!" Yuri shouted as a computer near him went wild.

"Think, think, think…think! What have we got?" he looked at the Professor.

"Oxygen," she suggested.

"Not enough oxygen!"

"Protein packs."

"Useless!"

"Glacier…"

"Glacier mints, minty, Monty, molto bene, bunny, Bonny, bish-bash-bosh! Baaah!"

"The room."

"Yes! The room, look at the room! Section F, what's in Section F? Anyone?"

"Nothing, it's just storage," Yuri frowned, watching them go back and forth.

"Storing what?" the Professor asked.

"I don't know. The weather spikes, robots, atom clamps…"

"Atom clamps?" the Doctor scoffed, "Atom clamps!" he turned open a storage cabinet, "Who needs atom clamps? I love a funny robot!"

"Gadget-gadget."

The little robot wheeled its way out. The Doctor crouched before it, putting something into its pincer hand while the Professor ran over and grabbed the sonic, flashing the robot as well.

"You take that," he grinned, "Good boy."

"Gadget-gadget."

"Off we go then!" he put on the control glove.

"Gadget-gadget."

Adelaide glanced back at the duo as they watched Gadget trundle off, before bringing up the warning screen on the computer by her.

"Come on, come on!" the Doctor muttered, watching Gadget's visual on another screen.

"Implementing Captain's Protocol," the computer behind them announced.

"Adelaide, what are you doing?" he spun around.

"Oh, my God," Mia gasped, "Action Five."

"If I have to fight you as well, then I will."

Adelaide simply hit enter.

"Nuclear device now active and primed. Nuclear device now active and primed."

The Professor quickly soniced Gadget's control panel.

"Blast off!" the Doctor shouted, watching as Gadget went turbo, zipping off across Mars, "Faster!"

The base shuddered, nearly knocking them all to the floor. But the Doctor grabbed onto the control panel, watching as Gadget reached the TARDIS.

Yuri ran behind them, using a fire extinguisher against the small fires that sprang up around them.

"Nuclear device entering final process."

Gadget raised its hand, unlocking the TARDIS with the key, "And we're in!" the Doctor laughed, moving Gadget to the console.

The Professor looked up, the countdown reaching 22 seconds when the TARDIS arrived.

They ran for it.

The countdown reached 0.

The base explode.

~8~

The TARDIS appeared on a nice little lane, snow falling lightly around it, when the Doctor opened the door and stepped out, sans spacesuit, followed by Adelaide, Mia, and Yuri.

"Isn't anyone going to thank us?" the Doctor asked as Gadget trundled out and shut down, the Professor stepping out silently after it and shutting the door, "He's lost his signal. Doesn't know where he is."

"That's my house," Adelaide frowned, spotting her door.

"Don't you get it? This is the 21st November 2059. Same day on Earth," he looked up, "And it's snowing," he glanced at the Professor, "I love snow."

She was silent.

"What is that thing?" Mia pointed at the TARDIS, "It's bigger...I mean, it's bigger on the inside! Who the hell are you?" she turned and fled.

Yuri moved to follow but hesitated.

"Look after her," Adelaide ordered.

"Yes, ma'am," he ran off.

"You saved us," Adelaide walked over to the aliens.

"Just think though," he grinned, not noticing the Professor crossing her arms, hugging herself in a way she hadn't in ages, "Your daughter, and your daughter's daughter, you can see them again. Family reunion!"

"But I'm supposed to be dead."

"Not anymore."

"But Susie, my granddaughter, the person she's supposed to become might never exist now."

"Nah! Captain Adelaide can inspire her face-to-face. Different details, but the story's the same."

"You can't know that. And if my family changes, the whole of history could change. The future of the human race. No one should have that much power."

"Tough."

Adelaide backed away from him, "You should have left us there."

"Adelaide, we've done this sort of thing before, in small ways, saved some little people…"

The Professor closed her eyes. She hadn't wanted ANY of them to die, not just Adelaide, she thought helping him would make her feel better, make her feel like she'd made up for Pompeii...she felt sick...by not stopping him...she'd turned the Doctor, the most wonderful man in the Universe, into a monster...

"But never someone as important as you," he continued, "Oh, we are good!"

"Little people?" Adelaide glared, "What, like Mia and Yuri? Who decides they're so unimportant? You?"

"For a long time now, I thought I was just a survivor, that  _we_  were just survivors, but we're not. I'm the winner. That's who I am. The Time Lord Victorious."

"And there's no one to stop you?" Adelaide glanced at the Professor as she opened her eyes.

"No," she swallowed hard.

The Doctor smirked, taking her answer to mean she agreed with him, not even bothering to look at her stance or expression.

Adelaide shook her head, "This is wrong, Doctor. I don't care who you are. The Time Lord Victorious is wrong."

"That's for me to decide," he said seriously, before smiling, "Now, you'd better get home. Oh, it's all locked up, you've been away. Still, that's easy," he flashed the sonic and unlocked her door, "All yours."

"Is there nothing you can't do?"

"Not anymore."

Adelaide stared him in the eye with a hard look before turning and walking into her house. The Doctor smiled, waiting till she entered the house before turning to the TARDIS door. He'd just gotten it open when a gunshot rang out.

He turned to face the house, horrified.

Both he and the Professor fell back against the TARDIS, literally feeling history, the timeline, change around them. Adelaide would be found in her home, dead, Mia and Yuri proclaiming her a hero, her granddaughter, luckily, was still going on to be the pilot she was destined to be.

The Doctor blinked, tears in his eyes as he realized that it was he who made Adelaide do this.

He looked at the Professor, "I've gone too far…"

Just then, an Ood song echoed through the night's sky. He looked over, falling to his knees at the sight of Ood Sigma standing in the road, "Is this it? My death? Is it time?"

Sigma vanished and the Professor pulled him to his feet, half shoving him into the TARDIS and slamming the door closed behind them. Without a backwards glance, she left him there and walked to the console, quickly piloting the TARDIS into the Vortex.

"Professor…" he began, pushing himself up. She had closed herself off, nearly reverted back to how she had been, not allowing him to hear her or feel her, letting no emotion play across her face. She was silent, "Kata…" he tried again, but still nothing, she ignored his presence, walking around to pilot the TARDIS as he approached her, "Say something!"

"What do you want me to say?" she demanded, glaring at him, "I betrayed all my beliefs, everything I have ever learned, every law I have ever followed, everything I have ever upheld. And I did it, all of it, for  _you_ ," she shook her head, she hadn't wanted them to die, but she hadn't wanted him to try and save them alone, she felt so torn, because Adelaide was  _right_ , they had nearly destroyed the future of the human race, "What else is there to say?"

"I'm sorry," he swallowed hard, "I'm so sorry."

"Sorry isn't enough this time Theta! I trusted you to make me better! I thought I was a  _monster_  for pulling that lever in Pompeii just to preserve a fixed point. What am I, now that I've helped you change one? I am _worse_  than that. I've helped you drive a human to suicide! You tampered with  _time_. You broke the  _law_. And I  _helped_ you do it!"

"Why?" he breathed. She could have stopped him, easily, whether it was a chop to the shoulder or literally dragging him kicking and screaming back to the TARDIS. But...she hadn't...

"Because you're you," she blinked back her tears, her anger fading to such hurt, all her emotions running rampant with the stress of the whole ordeal. Really, it should have been obvious why she did it, "You're my Bonded, I love you, I will support you in  _anything_ …even if it destroys me to do it."

He walked over to her quickly, pulling her into a hug, ignoring her struggles to pull back, "I'm sorry," he whispered once more, "I'm sorry I did that to you. Please…" he begged her, it was one thing to have done this himself, to have changed a fixed point, to have manipulated someone to the point where they took their own life. It was quite another to pull her into it as well. He felt like a monster for having done what he had, and he knew she already felt that way about herself because of the things she did and how she acted before Donna's humanity had struck her, he  _never_  wanted to be the one to make her feel that way again, he was supposed to help her, not make her feel worse. And he knew she only refused to stop him for fear of his anger, fear of making him hate her, as though that could ever happen, "If this ever happens again…stop me. I don't care how you do it, I'll forgive you whatever you do to stop me. But I can't…I  _won't_  be a monster…I don't want to betray you like that ever again. So please, stop me…"

She clutched his shirt as he held her, tears falling from her eyes, as she nodded, sobbing as the emotions surged through her, as the shell broke completely.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, despite the terrible situation, we now have a full breakthrough! The Professor has come full circle. At the beginning of her regeneration she didn't care one way or the other for who lived or died as long as time was safe and the Doctor was alive. But now, she's changed, she's broken through, able to think of others, be affected by them, to understand and empathize. Pompeii really affected her as we saw, despite being a hardened soldier, even then she didn't want to be the cause of such destruction. It really did take everything in her to actually do the deed though, to make herself go through with changing a fixed point, her actively deciding to fight time was a huge thing. It's fitting that, when faced with another fixed point, she's done the opposite, even if the consequences were just as terrible, she can express it now and allow herself to take comfort in the Doctor, allow him to see her weaknesses as she's been trying to remain strong for him and here we get to see her be weak and upset and hurt. As she has changed so has her actions towards a fixed point :)
> 
> I like to think it's been a progressive move to get her to this point. First she had to work on being open around two people (Jackson and Rosita), then a bus load of people while also dealing with their emotions, then she was in a situation with familiar people (Sarah Jane) and children which she cares for as much as the Doctor, and now here, with a group of people she knows deep down they shouldn't be trying to save but does. 
> 
> Next chapter will be an original one full of period clothes, assassination attempts, Captain Jack, dancing, references to the OTHER dancing, Sontarans, suggestive banter, a Queen, family reunions, 'death' threats, a flashback, and...a wedding! ^-^


	5. A Timely Wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm truly and actually very nervous about this chapter, with it being an original one and not based on an episode. So please, really let me know what you all think of it. Here we go...

It was a beautiful day, truly. The sun was shining, there was a warm breeze, and people ambling past them, strolling down the quaint streets of London, circa the late 1560s, the time the TARDIS had decided to take them to while put on a mystery tour setting, any time in human history on the original Earth. It was fitting that the TARDIS should select when they entered into this adventure of theirs, that blue box had given them so many already. The Professor smiled widely as she and the Doctor walked hand-in-hand down the narrow paths, past the people dressed in their period clothes, both heading for whatever church they came across first. They were finally doing it, they were FINALLY getting married in an Earth ceremony.

The Doctor was practically buzzing with excitement and anticipation. He couldn't wait to finally be able to call her his wife on Earth and mean it, have the memories to look back to.

As it was looking, it would be a rather unconventional one at best. Both of them dressed in their typical attire, just wanting to get to the ceremony, wanting to be married!

"Oh, wonder what that's all about?" the Doctor mumbled.

The Professor followed his gaze to see a small crowd gathering at the end of an alley that connected to one of the main streets. She shook her head at the Doctor as he led them towards it, leave it to him to get distracted even when they were about to get married. But then, she found herself rather distracted at the sight of a rather young Queen Elizabeth I herself in a small procession, walking along with one of her ladies-in-waiting, a few more behind with three soldiers ahead, three behind her, and three in the rear for safety.

The Doctor grinned widely, seeing that the guards hadn't been called yet which must have meant he hadn't met the Queen yet or done whatever it was that had her sending spears and arrows at him after they'd met Shakespeare.

"Oh, this is brilliant!" he cheered to the Professor, watching as the Queen walked closer, "This is a good sign!"

Could you imagine, getting married on the same day you were in the presence of royalty?

" _That_ , however, is not," the Professor remarked quietly before she made a mad dash towards the Queen.

He looked around quickly, spotting what she had seen, a man in the crowd to their left, hidden half in the shadows, with a crossbow ready, aimed at the Queen.

He took a step forward to help but it was too late.

The Professor rammed into the Queen, half tackling her to the ground as an arrow imbedded itself in the right shoulder of a guard behind her. The man fell to the ground as the crowd screamed. A few men turned, having heard the arrow release and tried to apprehend the would-be assassin. But the man quickly shoved his way through the crowd, some of the guards after him…

Till the Doctor, hands causally in his pockets, stuck out his foot, tripping him.

The guards quickly grabbed the man, dragging him, cursing, off as the Doctor pushed his way through and over to the Professor who was helping the Queen stand, safe and sound, a few other men helping to carry the wounded guard back to the palace for treatment.

"Are you alright?" the Professor asked the Queen as her ladies rushed to her side, checking on her.

"Yes, yes, I…" she took a breath, resting a hand on her racing heart, "I thank you," she smiled at the Professor a moment before eyeing her clothing and shaking her head, not about to criticize the woman who had saved her, "If you had not…"

"It was nothing," she quickly tried to wave it off.

"Hardly!" the Queen gave a shaky laugh.

"She was brilliant, wasn't she?" the Doctor asked, walking over to put an arm around the Professor's waist, hugging her close and grinning madly

"Exceptionally," the Queen nodded, looking at the Professor once more, "Is there any way I could reward you for such a daring act of valor?"

"Oh no," the Professor's cheeks turned a bit pink, "No, I…we," she nodded at the Doctor, "We were just on our way to get married and I saw…"

"Married!" the Queen gasped, her eyes widening with a happy light shining in them, "Then that shall be your reward."

"I'm sorry?" the Doctor frowned, confused.

"You were to be wed?" she looked between them till they nodded, "Then I shall host your wedding."

"Oh you don't have t…" the Professor began.

"Nonsense," the Queen laughed, "It is the least I can do. Come," she stepped forward, taking the Professor's arm, "You shall be my guests of honor tonight, we shall feast and celebrate your union!"

The Doctor and Professor could only exchange a look of shock at the Queen's generosity, considering how little she would come to favor the Doctor in the future, "…thank you?" the Professor shrugged, not quite sure how to say no to this particular Queen. The last thing she wanted to do was insult Elizabeth and have her after their heads like she would come to desire of the Doctor in the future.

"Francis," she called back to one of the four guards who had remained with her, "Please see to it that…" she looked at the Doctor a moment, as though just realizing she had no idea who they were.

"The Doctor," he answered automatically before reminding himself that they were going for an Earth wedding, "Uh, John Smith," he corrected, "She's Katherine Stewart," he nodded at the Professor.

The Queen nodded, "Please see to it that Doctor John Smith is attended to while I accompany Katherine back to the palace and prepare for the night's festivities."

The only guard who did not follow after the Queen nodded, turning to the Doctor as the Professor was led off by the Queen towards the Palace of Whitehall, the Doctor grinning widely as he watched her go.

"This way sir," the guard, Francis, turned to the Doctor.

"Hold on, hold on," the Doctor shook himself from his thoughts, "Can you wait here a moment? I just…we had two friends who were going to meet us at the church for the wedding. I just want to pop over and get them."

"Of course sir," Francis nodded, moving to wait.

He grinned and jogged back to where they'd hidden the TARDIS, quickly rushing to the console with two very specific destinations in mind…

~8~

"But why can't I wear trousers?" the Professor asked one of the ladies the Queen had assigned to help dress her for the night.

The Queen had talked quite excitedly over the prospect of the marriage to take place, a true romantic at heart despite how she would come to remain unwed herself, the Virgin Queen. She had even insisted on loaning a her dress from her own personal stock to wear. She was grateful for the sentiment, but…she'd always had an issue with long dresses.

"My lady that would be silly," the lady-in-waiting replied with a soft smile, eyeing the odd clothing the Professor was still wearing, "Quite improper."

"And you were the ones who wanted a  _traditional_  Earth wedding remember?" another voice called.

The Professor looked over, her eyes widening as she saw Martha Jones standing before her in a gown of her own, a lavender one fitted with a corset and skirt, three-quarter sleeves with a small white ruff around the edges and a slight collar, her hair held back in an elegant twist.

"Martha!" she smiled, shaking her head, "What are you doing here?"

"The Doctor picked me up," Martha walked over.

"And he made it back to the right time?"

Martha laughed, "Well, I think Jack helping him pilot might have had something to do with that."

"Jack's here too?"

Martha nodded as the Professor just shook her head and moved to hug her tightly.

"Oh I missed that!" Martha cheered as she hugged her back, pulling away slightly, "It's been too long since I properly hugged my best friend," and pulled her into another hug.

The Professor's smile faded a bit, growing sad, "I apologize," she gave Martha another squeeze before pulling away completely, "For how I acted…I…"

"It's fine," Martha smiled at her reassuringly, "I'm sorry I couldn't be there to help you through the regeneration like I did last one…"

"I wouldn't have wanted you to help me instead of your family. Family must always come first."

"You ARE my family though," Martha told her quietly, "All my parents have to do is decide to adopt a Time Lady to make it official."

The Professor smiled softly, "You are my family too, adoption or no. And I'm glad you're here, I don't believe I could truly get married without my Maid of Honor."

Martha's eyes filled with tears at that, touched. It had stung quite a lot to have the woman before her, her very best friend, as closed off as she had been. But to see her now, smiling and laughing and opening up, treating her as she always had…it warmed her heart. And she was so excited to be there on the day the Professor and the Doctor FINALLY got married on Earth as they had talked about often during her travels with them.

"I'm glad I'm here too," she nodded, "It's the Maid of Honor's job to get you into that dress."

"Oh not you too!" the Professor sighed.

"Why don't you want to wear a gown?" she shook her head, "It's tradition."

"It's not the gown that's the problem, it's the length," Martha shook her head like she didn't understand, "I  _have_  worn dresses before, Donna actually tricked me into one in the 1920s by making it sound like a mission that I blend in, but…those dresses only go to my knees, otherwise...I end up tripping all over the place."

"You?" Martha scoffed, "Trip?"

"It's true. There were times on Gallifrey where it was expected of us to wear these long, traditional robes, our pilot's exam for example..." she shook her head, thinking about how nevous she'd been.

~/~\~

_"Kata!" someone knocked on her bedroom door._

_"Theta," she rushed over, opening it to see him standing there with a bit of cloth draped over his arm, "What do I do?" she asked, gesturing at the ridiculously long robe she was wearing, "I'm never going to pass my pilot's test in this! I'll be tripping everywhere!"_

_"Kata calm down," he walked over to her, putting his hands on her shoulders. She always got so nervous about exams even though she always did brilliantly on them, "Everything will be fine. Look, I've even brought you something to help."_

_"What is it?" she asked. He just held up the cloth for her to see, "A…skirt?"_

_He nodded, beaming, "For luck."_

_"A lucky skirt?"_

_"Just wear this instead of those robes."_

_"But the robes are traditional attire for…"_

_"Traditional, yeah, but nothing says you have to stick with tradition eh?" he grinned slyly, "I even did research on it and…"_

_"You?" she stared at him, wide eyed, "Actually did research? Willingly?"_

_"Ha ha Kata," he rolled his eyes at her, "You know I'd do anything for you," his eyes widened, "To help you!" he added quickly, "I'd do anything to help you!"_

_She eyed him a moment before turning her gaze on the skirt, "And you're SURE there're no rules against this?"_

_He nodded, "Double checked, the robes are traditional but not required."_

_She let out a relieved breath, taking the skirt from him and holding it against her to look at it, "It's a bit short…"_

_"All the better so you don't trip up eh?" he grinned, but there was a pink tint to his cheeks._

_"I suppose," she nodded, before smiling and moving forward to hug him, "Thank you Theta."_

_"No problem at all Kata," he hugged her tightly a moment._

_She pulled away, "Just let me change and we can head off yeah?"_

_He nodded and she dashed into her closet to get changed, eager and ready for the test._

~/~\~

She smiled softly at the memory, "The Doctor gave me this shorter skirt to wear instead so that I wouldn't trip up and fail as badly as he had…and speaking of the Doctor…it is rather quiet, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Martha shrugged, "And?"

"I should go check on him," she headed for the door. They had spent nearly every minute together since they'd brought Donna home and this was actually the first time she could think of that they were separated. It left her feeling very uneasy, her instincts on alert. Knowing the Doctor, he'd have gotten into some sort of trouble by now and she wouldn't be there to protect him...

"Oh no," Martha grabbed her arm, spinning her around, "Not gonna happen missy, not until we get you into that dress."

"But what if something's happened?"

Martha rolled her eyes, this had to be a distraction technique or something to get out of having to wear that dress, "Trust me, everything's fine," she told her, leading her back to the lady-in-waiting who was preparing the gown, "Jack's with him right now, he'll keep an eye out for him. Nothing's gonna happen."

~8~

"How did this happen?" the Doctor shouted as he and Jack ducked down behind a desk in the room he'd been given, a blast of energy flying above them, skimming the top of a candle, narrowly missing them, "How did they even  _find_  me? We're in 16th century England!"

"I tried to tell you!" Jack called as he tried to get the small Compact Laser Deluxe out to fire back with, "I was in the middle of negotiations with them when you barged in shouting about getting married to the Professor in Queen Elizabeth's court before dragging me out! Doesn't take much to figure out where we were going does it?"

He finally got the gun out and turned, using the desk for cover to fire back at the three armed Sontarans in the back of the room.

"Yeah but why are they so keen to stop the wedding?" the Doctor asked, flicking through the settings of the sonic, before kneeling, flashing them, making one Sontaran's weapon spark and short circuit, before dropping back down with Jack.

"We shall not allow this travesty to take place!" one of the Sontarans shouted, hearing him.

"Travesty?" he peered over the desk only for the Sontarans to fire at him again, "What travesty? How is a WEDDING a travesty?"

"The greatest warrior the Universe has ever known shall not marry an enemy of Sontar!" a second Sontaran spat.

"Oh, that's how," the Doctor rolled his eyes, twisting to the side and flashing the sonic again, disabling another weapon, as Jack fired at the first unarmed Sontaran, managing to wound it.

"I get the feeling they're not too happy about you and the Professor finally tying the knot," Jack remarked.

"No," the Doctor agreed. The Sontarans most likely didn't know that he and the Professor had Bonded, in fact, they probably didn't even know what a Bonding was, so he could see why they would react to a wedding.

Jack sat back down, checking his gun, "On three?" the Doctor nodded, "One, two, three!"

They jumped up from behind the desk and split up, both trying to hide as the Sontarans fired at them. The Doctor made it to the cupboard next to the door, Jack rolling over a bed and hiding on the other side of it, firing at the Sontarans. He turned, flashing the sonic, disabling the last Sontaran before Jack ran out and began to attack, hand-to-hand, as the gun ran out of ammo.

"Doctor?" they heard the Professor call from the other side of the door, "Is everything alright?"

The Doctor looked at the door, wide eyed, when…

"Doctor!" Jack shouted.

He looked over, seeing a Sontaran running for him, a spear-like weapon raised to strike and grabbed a cane that was sticking out of a vase beside the cupboard, using it to block the attack.

"Are you ok in there?" the Professor called.

"Fine!" he yelled back.

"…then why has your voice gone squeaky?" she asked.

He cleared his throat, "Fine!" he tried again.

"Still squeaky."

He ducked under a swing, dashing behind the Sontaran and swinging the cane to crash against the Probic Vent, knocking the alien out...and breaking the cane in the process.

"I'm coming in," the Professor told him.

"NO!" both he and Jack shouted.

"Then what is going on? Have you gotten yourself into some sort of trouble?"

"No, no, nothing like that," the Doctor called as the wounded Sontaran moved to attack him.

"Then what is it?"

"Um…" he jumped back, avoiding a blow, "Jack's giving me pointers about dancing!"

Jack looked at him incredulously and he could only shrug, it was the first thing that popped into his head.

"Really?" the Professor asked, "Why? I doubt they're going to play more than a waltz tonight, if that…"

"Oh, right, THAT dancing," he remarked, dodging to the side.

"Well what other kind is there?"

"Um, listen, Professor," Jack called, struggling with a Sontaran over the gun it had picked up, trying to grab it with one hand while holding his other over the Sontaran's mouth to keep it from shouting and alerting the Professor to the presence of the other aliens, "Kind of in the middle of…giving pointers here…"

"Oh, yes. I suppose I should finish preparing as well."

They could hear her walk off and Jack quickly got the Sontaran to fire, hitting its partner as it was about to swing at the Doctor's head, taking him out, before shoving the alien back.

Unfortunately, the alien managed to keep its grip on the gun, and was currently aiming it at them. They quickly held their hands up in the air, backing up against the wall as the Sontaran advanced.

"Now," the last Sontaran cheered, "I shall protect the honor of the most famous of warriors!"

He readied his gun, the two men closing their eyes tightly when…

The Sontaran pitched forward, face first, onto the ground, the back of its Probic Vent smoking.

They looked up to see the Professor sitting in the window of the room in a very simple sleeveless dress, barefoot, her hair still pulled back in its ponytail, her blaster out and aimed at where the Sontaran had been standing.

"You," she looked at the Doctor, "Are still the WORST liar I have ever met," she shook her head. As though he'd be able to hide the fact there was something dangerous threatening him inside the room. She wasn't stupid, she could recognize the signs of an ongoing battle when she heard them.

They looked from her, down at the Sontaran, then back at her, wide eyed, mouths open, stunned.

"Um…" the Doctor searched feebly for something to say, "Bad luck to see the bride in her gown before the wedding."

"What, this?" she looked down at her dress, "This is not the dress."

He blinked, frowning, "It's not?"

She shook her head, "This era seems to have used more underclothes than any other. This is the under dress."

His eyes widened, "So…you're basically standing in front of me and another man in your knickers?"

"These aren't my knickers. Even the knickers have knickers," she started to lift up the dress, intending to show them the pant-like bottoms she wore underneath when the Doctor ran forward, grabbing her hands to stop her.

"No, no, don't do that," he lowered her dress back down, "Don't."

Jack coughed in the background, sounding quite like he was trying to hide a laugh.

The Professor just shook her head and headed into the room, making her way over to the Sontaran she had shot, kneeling down and grabbing the alien's arm, opening a small compartment on the armor around its wrist where its teleport controls were located.

"Um, shouldn't you be getting ready for your wedding?" Jack asked her as she began hitting a few buttons within.

"Shouldn't you be calling the 'most famous of warriors' when dealing with Sontarans?" she reasoned.

Jack really did laugh this time.

She stood and walked over to the desk that now had a few mysterious burn marks on it, eyeing the marks a moment before walking behind it. She grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill, scratching out a quick note as the Doctor walked to her side, his specs on as he read over her shoulder.

He let out a little laugh as she finished up the message in Sontaran, watching as she grabbed a candle that had been lit by a Sontaran blast from the desk and moved back over to the Sontaran she'd been kneeling by. She dripped some of the wax on its armor and pressed the edge of the parchment into it, making sure it was stuck before hitting the teleporter, sending the three Sontarans back to their ship.

She stood up just as a knock sounded on the door, "Doctor?" Martha's voice drifted over before the door opened, "Have you seen the Professor? She's given me the slip and...there you are!" she rolled her eyes, marching in and grabbing the girl's wrist, "I told you everything would be fine! See, nothing's happened!" and snatched the blaster out of her hand, pulling her out of the room, smiling as she knew the woman was  _letting_  her pull her away, before she shut the door behind them.

The men exchanged a look before laughing, neither used to seeing that version of the Professor being pulled off anywhere.

"So what did she write?" Jack asked as they stopped laughing, "Should I be expecting an intergalactic war to start before the night's over?"

The Doctor shook his head, "She basically sent them a death threat."

Jack frowned, "I thought Sontarans don't fear death."

He grinned, "She threatened to ensure a Rutan victory should any Sontaran soldiers attack the wedding again."

Jack whistled, "She would do it too."

The Doctor nodded, pulling off his tie, he had a wedding to prepare for.

~8~

The Doctor stood before an old minister by the altar at the end of a small chapel room, tugging at the cuffs of his doublet and then pulling at its collar which nearly encompassed his neck. The clothing wasn't very comfortable, he had to admit, but the Queen had provided it and insisted he wear it. He wasn't quite sure how to turn down Elizabeth I and so he took comfort in the fact that even the Professor had been forced into period clothing.

"Doc calm down," Jack whispered to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. But even he had to admit, the clothes of the period really  _were_  a pain in the backside to wear.

"I know," the Doctor muttered, "I know."

But he just went back to tugging on the cuffs. The Queen had provided him with a white doublet that was embroidered with blue right down the fitted sleeves, across his shoulders, and down the center of his chest with small, elegant, swirled patterns. The blue set off the brown of its metal clasp-like buttons down the center seam quite nicely as well as the brown belt around his waist. The doublet was actually quite long, reaching his mid thighs which afforded him the use of pants instead of the traditional white stockings of the time. The pants, white with blue stitching on the sides, were tucked into his knee high brown boots. Everything was quite fitted, which suited him rather well.

Jack was garbed in something similar, a blue doublet with simple white stitching and black buttons and belts, black pants and boots, though Jack looked far more comfortable in his clothes than he felt at the moment.

He glanced around the room, nervously fidgeting as the people looked at him. The Queen had gathered her court, positioned before her people, as they all stood there, waiting for the ceremony to begin…

And then…the music began to play, a very soft tune.

He looked over, seeing Martha enter in her lovely lavender dress, grinning excitedly, her hands clasped before her as she walked up the aisle and to the right, taking a spot opposite Jack and turning to look as the Professor entered.

The Doctor's mouth dropped open and he felt his hearts literally stop at the sight of her.

The Professor slowly walked towards him, dressed in a beautiful white gown that flowed to the floor though he could see the front hem was just a little off the floor and had to chuckle to himself, a way to make sure she wouldn't trip on the length. It was a simple gown and he would expect nothing less from her. It was a basic white corset with a white skirt but with a piece of blue cloth tied around her waist like a sash or a belt, swishing as she walked. Her bodice appeared to have slightly detached sleeves, exposing a hint of her shoulders before the sleeves began, flowing down to her elbows where they bunched up and fell like a bell to her thighs. The gown, like his doublet, was embroidered with blue stitching in swirl-like patterns along the hem of her skirt, in a V-like pattern on her bodice, and along the hem of her sleeves. She wore no veil, her golden hair held back by two braids on either side of her head, her hands clasped before her.

She was beautiful.

And then she smiled at him, reaching him, taking his hand…and before he knew it, they were standing before the minister, about to be wed.

Having waited so long to do so, having proved their love in numerous ways, the Doctor had asked the minister to give them the most important part of the ceremony, their vows.

The minister smiled at them, "We have come here together, before God and our most sovereign Queen Elizabeth the First, to join in holy matrimony Doctor John Smith and his Katherine Stewart. If there be any among you who may imagine some impediment as to why they should not be married, let them now speak up or forever hold their peace."

There was silence.

He gave a nod and turned to the Doctor, "Do you, John, take Katherine as your lawful wedded wife; to love, honor, comfort, and cherish her from this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto her, for as long as you both shall live?"

The Doctor smiled, gazing on her softly, "I do," he whispered, his thumb gently stroking her knuckles as he held her hands in his, "Always."

"And do you, Katherine, take John as your lawful wedded husband; to love, honor, comfort, and cherish him from this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto him, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," she replied softly, almost shaking with joy, "Forever."

The minister smiled at them, seeing the love they held for each other reflected in their eyes, "John, repeat after me: I, John Smith, take thee, Katherine Stewart, to be my lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part."

The Doctor squeezed her hands, looking her in the eyes as he gave his solemn vow, "I, John Smith, take thee, Katherine Stewart, to be my lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part."

The minister turned to her, "Katherine, repeat after me: I, Katherine Stewart, take thee, John Smith, to be my lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part."

She smiled at the Doctor, her gaze soft as she looked upon him, "I, Katherine Stewart, take thee, John Smith, to be my lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part."

The minister looked at Jack and Martha, "May I have the rings?"

Jack grinned proudly at the couple, who seemed oblivious that there was even anyone else in the room, as he handed the ring the Doctor had given him to the minister as Martha did the same with the ring she had been given.

The minister held the ring meant for the Professor up, "May this ring be blessed so he who gives it and she who wears it may abide in peace and continue in love until life's end."

He handed it to the Doctor who gently held the Professor's left hand in his own. He lifted her hand to his lips, dropping a kiss to her knuckles and her engagement ring, before sliding on the ring, "With this ring, I thee…finally…wed."

She gave a little laugh at that.

The minister smiled, holding up the ring for the Doctor, "May this ring be blessed so she who gives it and he who wears it may abide in peace and continue in love until life's end."

He held it out to the Professor who took it, kissing it before she slid it onto the Doctor's finger, "With this ring, I thee finally wed."

He beamed at her.

The minister held up his hands, "I now pronounce that this couple be husband and wife! You may now…" he trailed off.

The Doctor and Professor were already kissing as the court applauded, Martha and Jack cheering behind them, the Queen watching on with a soft smile.

"Kiss the bride," the minister finished with a small laugh.

~8~

The Doctor beamed widely as he looked around the small banquet hall that had been prepared for their wedding feast. The Professor was to his right as he held her hand tightly, his fingers running over the rings on her finger, his hearts swelling every time he felt the bands there. She was speaking quietly to Martha who was beside her and blushing heavily as a young man next to her flirted with her despite the fact she was taken. Jack, sitting to his left, patted his shoulder before getting up, a pint of ale in his hands, a drink he'd been thoroughly enjoying since the feast began, to head over to a larger table where the Queen herself was sitting, smiling and laughing, her gaze following Jack as he moved closer to her.

He shook his head and turned to the Professor when he heard a rather slow song beginning to play a familiar beat, "Let's have a dance yeah?"

She nodded, smiling softly as Martha ushered them off.

He beamed, leading her to the open area between tables, pulling her close as they began a basic waltz around the room.

The Professor glanced around the room as they moved, seeing a few interested glances, people whispering and watching them, some even looking confused before others got up and tried to imitate their steps, "I think we've invented the waltz early," she remarked quietly to him, pulling back a bit so she could look up at him, "Or at the very least the basics of it."

He laughed, shaking his head before he gazed at her softly, but he had to ask, "Whatever happened to 'dancing is a distraction?'"

Her smile faded slightly, "I still cannot believe I actually  _said_  that," she shook her head, a thoughtful, almost sad look on her face, "I feel like…some other person said it. I  _know_  I am still that person in part, but I…" she sighed, trying to form the words to express it, "It seems like a lifetime ago that that happened."

He laughed, "I never thought the day would come when I'd be glad you were wrong about something."

She shook her head at him, the two of them dancing on a few more moments before she decided on something. She had just implemented a few defensive strategies about dancing, perhaps it was time to move onto the more offensive in regards to  _dancing_ …

"Though, I suppose I was partially right," she began.

"About?" he looked down at her.

"Dancing CAN be very…" she stepped closer to him, making sure he could feel her moving as they danced, her nearness, "Distracting. Can't it?"

A smile began to creep across his face as he pulled her even closer, "Oh, yes."

She gave a little shrug, "Would you like me to tell you something else that is quite distracting to think about?" she asked, moving for his weakness, open affection, and placing a little kiss to his neck, making him stiffen, "Especially at a wedding?"

She could see him swallow hard as she laid her head on his shoulder, "W-what?"

"The honeymoon."

She should have felt more awkward about it, about being so openly affectionate with him with so many strangers around. But…he had always had that affect on her, making her feel, with just a look, like she was the only one there with him, like they were the only two people in the world.

She felt him stroke her neck and lifted her head to look at him, only for him to lean forward and kiss her deeply.

Cheers and whistles started up around them, making them break their kiss, flushing red with embarrassment at having gotten so caught up in the moment before laughing at themselves and finishing the last few measures of the dance.

"I see Jack and Elizabeth are enjoying their time together," she commented, watching as Jack and the Queen disappeared out one of the doors that led outside while they made their way back to their table.

"Going for a walk in the gardens I suppose," he nodded.

The Professor gave a little laugh, shaking her head, more like a snog in the shrubbery if their body language was anything to go by.

"You two are  _so_  adorable," Martha gushed, getting up to hug the Professor tightly before they sat back down at the table, "And your faces when you remembered where you were…I don't think I've ever seen anyone that red before. Is that a Time Lord thing?"

The Professor just blushed more at that.

~8~

The Doctor had just taken a bite of a small pastry from a collection that had been brought to the table when Jack half ran back into the room, his clothes disheveled, his hair a mess, with odd red smudges on his cheeks, neck, and lips.

He dashed over to the Doctor, grabbing the rest of the pastry just as the man was going for another bite and putting it down, leaning over so he could talk to the three of them quietly, "We need to leave, now."

"What, why?" the Doctor frowned, moving to pick up the pastry again.

"No time for that," Jack put the pastry back down, "We really,  _really_  need to go. Quickly."

"Jack what did you do?" the Professor turned to him, now on the alert.

"I may have…accidently…promised to elope with Lizzie," he admitted, a red blush creeping up his neck.

"What?" Martha gaped, having heard him as she leaned over to listen.

"Lizzie?" the Doctor nearly choked.

The Professor took in his appearance a moment before her eyes widened, "That's not all you did was it?"

"Yeah about that," Jack winced, "The nickname the Virgin Queen doesn't apply anymore."

"Jack!" Martha gasped.

"Ok, time to go," the Doctor agreed, getting up, the guards would probably be swarming the place in a few moments out for Jack's blood. He gave a little wave to the court as he took the Professor's hand, about to run out when the Professor held him firm.

"Do  _not_  raise suspicion," she whispered to him.

He nodded and they slowly walked out the door Jack had run in, Jack and Martha following tensely behind, till they were safely outdoors and running off into the night.

"Where's the TARDIS?" Jack asked, following the Time Lords.

"In the glade just there," the Doctor nodded ahead.

"No!" Jack grabbed his arm, pulling him back, "That's where Liz is waiting!"

"Well we have no other choice at the moment," the Professor cut in, "And no time to waste, move!"

She tugged the Doctor along, reaching the edge of glade where the TARDIS was set up, vaguely spotting the Queen standing by a tree on the other side of it with a lantern in her hand.

"Jack!" she called, spotting them.

"Ok," the Doctor reached out, taking Jack's arm, hauling him towards the box, "In we go," he fished for the key, patting down his pockets, trying to remember where he'd put it.

"What are you doing?" the Queen shouted, starting to run towards them.

"A little faster Doctor," Martha mumbled, watching the Queen hike up her dress as she dashed across the glade.

The Professor just reached into one of the pockets of his doublet, pulling out the key and turned to the box, "Got it!" she called, getting the door open.

"In you get!" the Doctor pushed Jack inside, ushering Martha in as well.

"No!" the Queen shouted, nearing them, "Stop!"

The Professor moved to follow when the Doctor pulled her back, "Doctor!" she turned to him, confused.

"One more tradition left," he murmured, reaching out and scooping her up into his arms.

"Not really the best time," she reminded him.

"Oh it's the perfect time," he grinned at her, stepping over the threshold of the box, kicking the doors shut behind him just as the Queen reached them.

"Open this door!" the woman shouted, pounding against it, "I order you to open this door this instant! Doctor!"

They glanced at each other, feeling quite bad about having to do this, but they had to get Jack away, they couldn't risk affecting the Queen's timeline any more than they already had. They ran to the console, quickly setting the coordinates.

"Open this door!" the Queen screeched, "Jack!" she banged on it, "Doctor! Open this door! Stop!"

The TARDIS began to dematerialize, "Guards!" the Queen screamed as they disappeared, "Doctor!"

"Well now we know why she seems to dislike you," the Professor looked up at him from across the console, "She thinks you kidnapped Jack on  _her_  wedding night."

The Doctor just laughed and pulled a lever, getting them into the Vortex.

~8~

"Well," the Professor murmured as she sat on the captain's chair, the Doctor dropping down beside her, the two of them having brought Jack and Martha home before heading off into the Vortex once more, "Another thing that escalated around you," she smiled, recalling how often that had happened when they travelled with Martha.

"Want to know something that escalates around  _you_?" he asked, reaching for her hand.

"What?"

He simply placed her hand in the center of his chest, letting her feel his hearts racing and not from their little adventure.

He reached out with his other hand, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear, "I love you Kata," he smiled, "My  _wife_."

She lifted her hand to hold his wrist, just rubbing her thumb across his pulse, "And I love you Theta,  _my_  husband."

He gave a little laugh, "Possessive are we?"

"After having everyone try to sink their claws into you?" she laughed, giving him a small smile, "Yes, very."

He looked at her softly, "You were right you know."

"I always am," she nodded, "About what this time?"

"The thought of a honeymoon is VERY distracting," he leaned forward and kissed her deeply for quite a few minutes before pulling away, resting his forehead against hers, "And…I've the perfect place to have ours."

"Where?"

"It's a surprise," he laughed, getting up and running to the console, setting their destination and pulling a lever, sending them off and onto their honeymoon.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You want to kill me for ending it there don't you? It's like the 11th Doctor said, that's all private stuff that just sort of...goes on, they don't put up a balloon or anything, lol. And really...they've been Bonded since after Donna's almost wedding, and sharing a room, and sharing a bed, hint hint, wink wink, nudge nudge. But I will say this, we find out a bit about what happened on their honeymoon during The Eleventh Hour :)
> 
> Did you like the FINALLYs I kept throwing in, I agree it took them far too long to finally tie the knot on Earth, but they finally did lol. If only they knew what was coming in The End of Time...


	6. The End of Time (Part 1)

A light snow fell upon the Ood Sphere as the TARDIS materialized before Ood Sigma. The Doctor stepped out, wearing a straw cowboy hat and a pink lei with sunglasses, while the Professor just shook her head at him and closed the door.

"Ah!" he spotted Sigma, "Now! Sorry! There you are," they walked over, "So, where were we? I was summoned, wasn't I? An Ood, in the snow, calling to me. Well, I didn't exactly come straight here. Had a bit of fun, y'know, travelled about, did this and that. Got into trouble, you know me. It was brilliant. We saw the Phosphorous Carousel of the Great Magellan Gestadt. Saved a planet from the Red Carnivorous Maw. Named a galaxy Alison.  _Finally_  got married," the Doctor beamed at the Professor, both of them now sporting a wedding ring on their fingers, very low level perception filters on them, "That was the  _best_  decision ever."

"Though it  _was_  a mistake to get married in Elizabeth's court and invite Jack," the Professor remarked, "Good Queen Bess…"

He laughed, turning to the Ood again, "Let me tell you, her nickname is no longer..." he cleared his throat, "Anyway...what d'you want?"

"You should not have delayed," Sigma replied.

"The last time we were here, you said our songs would be ending soon," the Professor reminded him, "We are in no hurry for that."

"You will come with me."

"Hold on, better lock the TARDIS," the Doctor reached into his coat and pulled out a key to the TARDIS, making it beep, locking it, "See? Like a car. I locked it like a car. Like...it's funny. No?" the Professor shook her head, "Little bit?" Sigma stared at him, "Blimey, try to make an Ood laugh," he sighed and they continued on, following Sigma along, "So how old are you now, Ood Sigma?"

They stopped short, looking ahead to see a magnificent city carved into the ice and stone, spires everywhere.

"Beautiful," the Professor smiled softly at it.

"Magnificent," the Doctor had to agree as he nudged Sigma, "Oh, come on! That is...splendid! You've achieved all this in how long?"

"100 years," Sigma replied.

They stiffened.

"Then we have a problem," the Professor stated, "All of this is far too fast. Not just the city, but your ability to call us. Reaching all the way back to the 21st century. Something is accelerating your species far beyond normal."

"And the mind of the Ood is troubled," Sigma nodded.

"Why, what's happened?" the Doctor frowned.

"Every night, Doctor. Every night, we have bad dreams."

"Returning, returning, returning, it is slowly returning," they heard someone whisper. They followed it till they reached a dark chamber where the elder Ood were gathered around a small table, breathing in incense as they sat in a circle, "Through the dark and the fire and the blood, always returning, returning to this world. It is returning and he is returning and they are returning, but too late, too late, far too late, he is come."

"Sit with the Elder of the Ood and share the dreaming," Sigma motioned to the Time Lords.

"So...right," the Doctor moved to sit, the Professor beside him, "Hello!"

"You will join," the Elders began to chant, "You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join."

They held hands, forming a circle, the Doctor and Professor taking it for a moment only to pull away when they saw the Master's laughing face in their minds.

"He comes to us, every night," one of the Elders turned to them, "I think all the peoples of the Universe dream of him now."

"That man is dead," the Professor nearly spat, resenting the man quite a bit as he was the reason she'd regenerated into a soldier once again.

"There is yet more. Join us," they joined hands again, "Events are taking shape, so many years ago, and yet changing the now. There is a man..." they could hear the Master laugh, before seeing Wilf, sitting at his kitchen table, worried, "So scared…"

"Wilfred!" the Doctor gasped, "Is he alright? What about Donna, is she safe?"

"You should not have delayed, for the lines of convergence are being drawn across the Earth, even now. The king is in his counting house…" there was a flash of two wealthy looking black people, an older man and a younger woman, sitting in a room.

"We don't know who they are."

"And there is another. The most lonely of all, lost and forgotten…" and then they saw Lucy Saxon, sitting in a cell, crying.

"The Master's wife," the Professor frowned. She had a bit of a soft spot for Lucy despite the fact that the woman had technically shot her. Lucy had always tried to sneak her food when the Master was preoccupied.

"We see so much, but understand little. The woman in the cage, who is she?"

"She was..." the Doctor trailed, trying to find a way to explain, knowing the Professor was touchy on reliving this, "It wasn't her fault, she was...the Master, he's a Time Lord, like us. I can show you…" he clutched the hands of the Ood, showing them the Master when he was parading as Saxon, "The Master took the name of Saxon. He married a human, a woman called Lucy. And he corrupted her. She stood at his side while he conquered the Earth. We reversed everything he'd done, so it never even happened. But Lucy Saxon remembered. She tried to shoot him but…he…he pulled the Professor in the way instead…he was killed though, we burnt his body! The Master is dead!"

"And yet, you did not see..." the Ood pulled them into a vision, of just after they left the pyre, a hand reaching down and picking up the Master's ring.

"What's that?" the Doctor gasped, seeing an older woman holding the ring.

"Part of him survived," the Professor's eyes snapped open and she tried to get up.

"We have to go!" the Doctor agreed but the Ood pulled them back down.

"But something more is happening," the Elders continued, "The Master is part of a greater design, because a shadow is falling over creation. Something vast is stirring in the dark," the Ood looked up, their eyes red, "The Ood have gained this power to see through time because time is bleeding. Shapes of things once lost are moving through the veil. And these events from years ago threaten to destroy this future. And the present and the past."

"What do you mean?"

"This is what we have seen. The darkness heralds only one thing, the end of time itself. Events that have happened are happening now."

The Doctor and Professor jumped to their feet and ran out of the chamber, across the snow, running as fast as they could, till they reached the TARDIS. The Doctor whipped out the key, unlocking it by remote and they ran in, straight to the controls and took off, flying rapidly through the Vortex. The controls sparked as they worked furiously, smoke started to rise but they ignored it, still trying to push the box faster.

The TARDIS materialized and they ran out the door, only to find themselves standing before the ruins of Broadfell Prison.

It was utterly destroyed.

They were too late.

~8~

The Doctor and Professor stood above a pile of dirt and looked out on a shipyard. They had sensed the Master was there and had tracked him across the City to that very spot. They closed their eyes and inhaled deeply, focusing, when their eyes snapped open.

Four bangs echoed from the center of the yard.

They looked over, hearing them repeat, before running towards the sound. The banging got louder, repeating twice more. They ran past discarded girders and up a pile of dirt when they saw the Master. He let out an inhuman roar, his face flashing to a skeleton, before he leapt into the air, laughing.

They ran after him, closing the distance as the Master laughed, his face changing again as he stood on top of a set of pipes.

"Please, let us help!" the Doctor shouted, the Professor not trusting herself to speak those words, "You're burning up your own life force!"

The Master just glared at them before turning and jumping off the pipes. They ran over, only for Wilf to run into them.

"Oh, my gosh, Doctor, Professor!" Wilf cheered, "You're a sight for sore eyes."

"Out of the way!" the Doctor pushed him aside as he leapt onto the pile of girders by the Professor, looking out, but the Master was gone.

"Did we do it?" another old man asked as a group of elderly joined Wilf, "Is that them?"

"Tall and thin, big brown coat," one of the men eyed the Doctor, "Blond hair, blue eyed, with a gun. I'd say so."

"The Silver Cloak," one of the women smiled, "It worked. 'Cos Wilf phoned Netty, who phoned June, and her sister lives opposite Broadfell, and she saw the police box, and her neighbor saw these two heading east."

The Doctor stepped down as the group peered at them before turning to Wilf, the Professor joining him, "Wilfred? Have you told them who we are? You promised!"

"No," Wilf shook his head, "I just said you were a doctor and a professor, that's all. And might I say, sir, it is an honor to see you both again," he saluted them.

The Doctor returned the salute halfheartedly as the Professor gave a little smile and saluted him properly.

"Ooh, but you never said he was a looker!" the same old woman eyed the Doctor as the Professor shot her an incredulous look.

"And she's gorgeous!" another man agreed.

"Take a photo!" she handed her camera to the one of the men.

"Not bad, eh?" he grinned.

"No, very nice," they all agreed.

"Me next!"

"I'm Minnie," the old woman introduced herself, "Minnie the Menace. It's been a long time since I had a photo with a handsome man," she placed herself beside the Doctor, her arm around his waist, the women joining her as the men gathered around the Professor, everyone eager for a photo with them.

"Just get off them, leave them alone will you?" Wilf glared.

"Hush, you old misery. Come on, Doctor. Give us a smile," she reached up to pinch his cheeks, "That's it."

"Hold on..." the camera clicked, "Did it flash?"

"No, there's a blue light, try again."

"I'm all fingers and thumbs."

"We're really kind of busy, y'know?" the Doctor squirmed, trying to get out while the Professor just went rigid, unsure what to do.

"Oh, it won't take a tick," Minnie assured him, "Keep smiling," suddenly her hand slid down to his bottom and goosed him.

"Is that your HAND, Minnie?" he jerked away from her.

"Good boy," she patted his bum.

"Alright," the Professor stepped forward, grabbing his arm and pulling him away, "Hands off my husband."

The Doctor couldn't help but beam at that. He would never get used to hearing that from her after so long, but he loved hearing it.

' _Possessive are we?_ ' he murmured to her quietly.

' _Get used to it,_ ' she remarked, ' _You're mine now._ '

' _I've been yours since I was 10 years old,_ ' he took her hand, ' _I just don't think I realized it._ '

She smiled softly at that, ' _You never could think as fast as me._ '

~8~

Wilf, the Doctor, and the Professor stepped off the bus, "Come on, then," Wilf called, "Here we are, hurry up. Bye. You behave, bye," they turned to wave goodbye to the bus before following Wilf across the street towards a café, "Over here, come on."

"What's so special about this place?" the Doctor asked.

"We passed 15 cafés on the way," the Professor agreed.

Wilf just entered, nodding to a man as he left, "Yeah. Afternoon," before he led them over to a table by the front, taking a seat near the window as the two sat across from him, "Oh, we had some good times, didn't we, though? I mean, all those ATMOS things and planets in the sky and me with that paint gun," he mimicked the gun, before sighing, "I keep seeing things, I...this face at night..."

"Who are you?" the Doctor asked him suddenly, eyeing him.

"I'm Wilfred Mott."

"No, people have waited hundreds of years to find me and then you manage it in a few hours. Only one who's ever managed to find me quicker than that is the Professor."

"Well, I'm just lucky, I s'pose."

"No, we keep on meeting, Wilf. Over and over again, like something's still connecting us."

"Yeah, but what's so important about me?"

"Exactly. Why you?"

"You're Donna's grandfather," the Professor stated, "That automatically makes you important."

Wilf smiled at her for that as the Doctor fell silent a moment.

"We're going to die," he stated.

"Well, so am I, one day," Wilf shrugged.

"Don't you dare."

"Alright," he laughed, "I'll try not to."

"But I was told, 'He will knock four times,'" the Doctor took a deep breath, "That was the prophecy. Knock four times, and then I..." he swallowed hard. He wasn't sure which was worse, having an idea of his own death on the horizon or not knowing a thing about the Professor's upcoming death.

"But I thought, when I saw you before, you said your people could change, like, your whole body."

"We can still die," the Professor tensed, the Doctor taking her hand, "If we're killed before regeneration, then we're dead. It's happened to me before. But I was lucky, we were in the TARDIS, she didn't want to let me go…she saved me."

The Doctor squeezed her hand, "Even then. Even if we change, it feels like dying. Everything we are dies. Someone new goes sauntering away. And we're dead."

"Hmm," Wilf murmured, distracted, as he looked out the window.

"What?" the Doctor followed his gaze, only to see Donna outside, "Oh…"

"I'm sorry. But I had to. Look, can't you make her better?"

"Stop it."

"No, but you're so clever. Can't you bring her memory back? Look, just go to her now, go on. Just run across the street. Go up and say hello."

"If she  _ever_ remembers us, her mind will  _burn_  and she will  _die_ ," the Professor told him harshly, unwilling to risk her friend suffering that fate.

A door closed and they looked out to see Donna confronting a meter attendant, "Don't you touch this car!"

They started laughing, "She's not changed," the Doctor remarked.

"Nah," Wilf agreed, "Oh, there he is..." a young black man joined Donna, carrying her shopping bags, "Shawn Temple. They're engaged. Getting married in the spring."

"Another wedding."

"Yeah."

"Hold on, she's not gonna be called Noble-Temple? Sounds like a tourist spot."

"No, it's Temple-Noble."

"Right."

"Is she happy?" the Professor asked, watching them interact, she seemed to be, "Is he nice?"

The Doctor smiled at her concern for their former Companion.

"Yeah, he's sweet enough," Wilf smiled, "He's a bit of a dreamer. Mind you, he's on minimum wage, she's earning tuppence, so all they can afford is a tiny little flat. And then sometimes I see this look on her face. Like she's so sad, but she can't remember why."

"She's got him," the Doctor remarked.

"He's got her," the Professor added quietly, squeezing his hand as he smiled at her softly.

"She's making do," Wilf sighed.

"Aren't we all?" the Doctor laughed hollowly.

"Yeah, how about you? Who've you two got now?"

"No one. Travelling just us," he swallowed, "I thought it would be better…" his voice broke, "But I did some things that went wrong, dragged the Professor into it with me…" he quickly wiped his eyes as the Professor put a hand on his arm.

"I chose to help," she told him, "You did  _not_  drag me into anything. I could have stopped you, you know, I am  _very_  good at chopping people apparently," he gave a little laugh at that, "But I didn't. It was partially my fault."

"Oh, my word," Wilf gasped softly, watching the man nod, trying not to break down.

"Merry Christmas," the Doctor scoffed lightly.

"Yeah, and you!"

"Look at us."

"Well, don't you…don't you see? You know, you need her. I mean, look, wouldn't she make you laugh again? Good old Donna? Eh?"

They could only watch as Donna drove away, nodding, she would…but she couldn't.

~8~

The Doctor and Professor stood on a pile of dirt near a derelict warehouse that night, trying to find the Master once more. They closed their eyes, sensing him and headed off in that direction, only to see the Master hunched over, gnawing at a bone.

A moment later he looked over his shoulder to see them standing there. He turned around as they walked towards him, holding up his hands, electricity crackling around them. He shot a beam at them, but missed the Professor, and then another, narrowly avoiding the Doctor. He rubbed his hands together, building up power as they continued to approach, before throwing out both hands, hitting them both in the chest. They fought it, struggling to stay standing till he stopped. They fell to their knees, panting, in pain. The Master rushed over and backhanded the Professor, knocking her back, just wanting to hurt her for the sake of what little power he still had, before crouching before the Doctor and grabbing his face, shoving him back. He stood for a moment before squatting down, watching them try to right themselves.

"I had estates," he began, "Do you remember my father's land, back home? Pastures of red grass stretching far across the slopes of Mount Perdition," he sighed, "We used to run across those fields all day, calling up at the sky," he glared at the Doctor, "You made me let  _her_  come when we would visit for the major holidays," he sneered at the Professor, "You wouldn't go without her."

~/~\~

_"Please?" he asked, a hopeful smile on his face as he stood before one of his best friends out on the open pasture behind the boy's estates. They were visiting for the holiday, ready to set out on an adventure through the deep red grass growing high around them._

_"Oh come on!" the boy grumbled, pouting, "She's a GIRL!"_

_"Yeah, I know that," he laughed, glancing back at the little blond girl standing back a small distance away, giving them privacy to talk._

_"But it's OUR secret spot! It's OUR fort. No girls allowed!"_

_He rolled his eyes, "Look I just want to show her it. I was telling her about how that one wall never seems to stay standing very long and she had this brilliant idea to…"_

_"You TOLD her?" the boy exclaimed._

_"Course I did."_

_"WHY?"_

_"She's really brilliant, I thought she could help, but she'll have to see the wall before she can really…"_

_"I can't believe you TOLD her!" the boy cut in, glaring daggers at the girl, "It was our SECRET!"_

_"Yeah but you tell your friends secrets, it's what makes you friends…"_

_"She is NOT my friend," the boy shot back, crossing his arms petulantly._

_"Well she IS mine," he countered, starting to frown at him, "And I want to show her the fort."_

_"She won't be able to keep up."_

_He laughed loudly at that, "You've not seen her run. She can out race me, and that's saying something."_

_His small smile started to fade as he thought on that. She could run very fast, it was true, but the look on her face half the time, it was like she was trying to run FROM something. He'd known her nearly a decade now and he still didn't know much about her life before she entered the Academy…but then again, that was partially why he wanted to show her the fort. Maybe if he trusted her with a few more secrets she would trust him in return._

_The boy huffed, pulling him from his thoughts, "No," he said, "I'm not taking a stupid girl to our fort."_

_His eyes narrowed a bit, "Fine, then have fun there on your own," he turned and started to walk back towards her._

_"What?" the boy called._

_He turned around to see the boy looking at him, stunned that he was walking away. He shrugged, still walking backwards, "You don't want her to see the fort. She doesn't go, I don't go either."_

_"But…that's not fair!"_

_"Your choice."_

_He watched as his friend's fists clenched a bit before he rolled his eyes, "Oh fine, she can come."_

_He beamed and turned to her, "Hear that?" he called, motioning her over, "You can come!"_

_She smiled and laughed, running over to him. He held his arms out and caught her as he hugged her tightly, spinning her around a moment before taking her hand and running off after his friend, through the pastures, towards the forest where their fort stood._

~/~\~

The Master let out a barking laugh as he sat back on the ground, "Look at us now."

"All that eloquence," the Doctor shook his head sadly, "But how many people have you killed?"

"I am so hungry."

"Your resurrection went wrong," the Professor told him, having gotten enough of a scan off him from the hit and wanting desperately to pull her blaster on him, but the Doctor had asked her before they'd found him to not, "That energy…your body's ripped open. Now you're killing yourself."

"And that's human Christmas out there," he ignored her, "They eat so much. All that roasting meat, cakes and red wine. Hot, fat, blood food. Pots, plates of meat and flesh and grease and juice. And baking, burnt, sticky hot skin. Hot! It's so hot!"

"Stop it!" the Doctor snapped.

"Slice! Slice!"

"Stop it!"

"It's mine! It's mine! It's mine! It's mine! Eat it! Eat it! Eat it! Eat it!"

"Stop it!" the Master took a deep breath, trying to control himself, "What if we ask you for help?"

He scoffed, "HER? Ask for MY help?"

"There's more at work tonight than you and us," the Doctor continued.

"Oh, yeah?"

"We've been told something is returning."

"And here I am!"

"No, it was something more."

"But it hurts," he held his head.

"We were told…the end of time…"

"It hurts, Doctor, the noise...the noise in my head, Doctor, one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, stronger than ever before! Can't you hear it?"

"I'm sorry."

"Listen, listen, listen, listen! Every minute, every second, every beat of my hearts, there it is...calling to me. Please, listen," he crawled towards the Doctor.

"I can't hear it. Neither of us can."

"Listen!" he grabbed the Doctor's head in his hands and pressed their foreheads together, forcing him to hear it.

The Doctor gasped and pulled away, noting that the Professor was staring at the man in horror as well, having heard it in his mind, "But that's..."

"What?"

"We heard it," the Professor said quietly, frowning.

The Doctor shook his head, "But there's no noise, there never has been, it's just your insanity, it's the...what is it? What's inside your head?"

"It's real!" he jumped to his feet laughing, "It's real! It's REAL!" he launched himself into the sky using his electricity, the Doctor and Professor pushing themselves up and chasing after him, down an alley, to where he stood on a large pile of dirt and rock, "All these years, you thought I was mad. King of the wasteland. But something is calling me, what is it? What is it? What is it?"

A beam of light fell on the Master and there was a whirring of blades as a helicopter descended. Another beam of light shown on the Doctor and Professor, blinding them slightly. Lines fell down on either side of the Master, two men sliding down them and grabbing him, shooting a tranquilizer into his neck.

"Don't..." the Doctor ran for them, the Professor grabbing her blaster to fire.

But then, two other soldiers started to fire at them from the helicopter, forcing them back as their teammates lifted the Master up.

"Let him go!" the Doctor shouted again.

Another series of soldiers ran up behind them, using their distraction and the lights to knock them both out with the butts of their guns, the helicopter noise having masked their footsteps. The craft flew away, leaving the two Time Lords sprawled out on the rubble.

~8~

The TARDIS appeared on the street outside the Noble home. The Doctor and Professor quickly ran out of it and over to the house, stopping themselves from barging in for fear of Donna's safety. The Professor picked up a small pebble and threw it at one of the windows upstairs where a light was on. Seeing Sylvia and Donna on the bottom floor, it left only Wilf upstairs. Soon he came to the window and looked out at them. Moments later he ran out of the house and over to them.

"We lost him," the Doctor told him, "We were unconscious. He's still on Earth. We can sense him, but he's too far away."

"Listen, you can't park there, what if Donna sees it?" Wilf nodded at the TARDIS.

"You're the only one, Wilf," the Professor cut in, "The only connection we can think of. You're involved. If we could work out how…" she shook her head, "Tell me, have you seen anything? Anything strange, anything odd?"

"Well, there was..." he paused, debating whether to tell them about the woman in white he kept seeing.

"What?" the Doctor asked, "What is it? Tell us."

"Well, there was...no, it's nothing."

"Think, think, think! Maybe something out of the blue. Connected to your life, something…"

"Well, Donna was a bit strange. She had a funny little moment, this morning, all because of that book."

"What book?" the Professor frowned.

~8~

Wilf came out of the back door with a book in his hand, giving it to them as he leaned against the house. It was a hardcover book with the black man they'd seen in the Ood vision.

"Here you are, his name's Joshua Naismith," Wilf remarked.

"That's the man," the Doctor breathed, "We were shown him, by the Ood."

"By the what?"

"By the Ood," the Professor repeated.

"What's the Ood?"

"They're just Ood," the Doctor waved him off.

"It's all part of the convergence," the Professor murmured, "Touching Donna's subconscious…"

The Doctor smiled, "Oh, she's still fighting for us, even now. The Doctor-Donna."

"Dad, what are you up to?" Mrs. Noble stepped out of the house, spotting her father, before glaring at the sight of the two Time Lords, "You! But...get out of here!"

"Merry Christmas," the Doctor smiled.

"Merry Christmas. But she can't see you! What if she remembers?"

"Mum, where are those tweezers?" Donna called from inside.

"Go!"

The Professor nodded, ushering the Doctor back towards the street.

"Me too," Wilf followed.

"Oh, no, you don't!" his daughter followed him, around the side of the house where they were heading for the TARDIS, "Dad, I'm warning you..."

"Bye, see you later!"

"Stay right where you are!"

The Doctor unlocked the TARDIS, "You can't come with us."

"You're not leaving me with her," Wilf mumbled.

"Dad!" his daughter shouted.

The Doctor glanced back at her before shrugging, "Fair enough."

He opened the door and they entered the TARDIS, still able to hear her shouting away before they disappeared into the Vortex, the two Time Lords rushing around the controls while Wilf stood there, stunned.

"Naismith!" the Doctor tossed the book to Wilf, "If we can track him down..." he paused, noticing Wilf's shock, "Ah. Right. Yes. Bigger on the inside. D'you like it?"

"I thought it'd be cleaner," he remarked.

"Cleaner? We could take you back home, right now."

"Listen, if this is a time machine, that man you're chasing, why can't you just pop back to yesterday and catch him?"

"We cannot go back inside our own timelines," the Professor stated matter-of-factly, still focused on the console, "We have to stay relative to the Master within the causal nexus," she glanced up, "Understand?"

"Not a word," Wilf smiled.

"Welcome aboard," the Doctor shook his hand.

"Thank you."

~8~

The TARDIS materialized in the stables of Naismith manor, the trio stepping out.

Wilf looked around in shock, "We've moved! We've really moved!"

"You should stay here," the Doctor warned him.

"Not bloody likely!"

"And don't swear."

"Hold on," the Professor reached into the Doctor's coat and grabbed the remote key, making the TARDIS dematerialize before tossing it back to him, "Just a second out of sync. We don't want the Master finding the TARDIS again."

The Doctor nodded and they headed off, down the stables, and out into the yard, following the building beside them. They nearly stepped into an archway before ducking back as two armed guards walked past.

"That book said he's a billionaire," Wilf told them, "He's got his own private army."

"Down here," the Doctor spotted a small door in the wall and rushed over with the sonic, opening it. They rushed in and closed it, just before the patrol made its way back. They headed down a hallway till they heard someone speaking from another room.

"…a miracle," a woman was saying, "All the systems are slotting back into place. The shatter-threads have harmonized and the multiple overshots have triplicated."

They peeked their heads around the doorframe to look into the room where a blond woman in a white lab coat was checking some readings.

"Shimmer," the Professor murmured, eyeing the woman, her gaze landing on the wristband she was wearing.

"Nice Gate!" the Doctor called, seeing a video feed of some tech the Master working beside.

"Hello," Wilf waved before they walked into the room.

"Look, sorry, don't call security, or we'll tell them you're wearing a Shimmer. 'Cos I reckon anyone wearing a Shimmer doesn't want the Shimmer to be noticed or they wouldn't need a Shimmer in the first place."

"I'm sorry, what's a Shimmer?" the woman tensed.

The Doctor pulled out the sonic and flashed her, "Shimmer."

The woman turned into a spiky, green alien.

"Oh, my Lord," Wilf gaped, "She's a cactus!"

"Miss Addams?" a man called over the comm..

The Doctor gave her a look not to reply before he headed to the screens the Professor was examining, "What's the status?"

"He's got it working," the Professor frowned, "But there's too much variability to say exactly what it is," she hit a few buttons and began to read the records of experimentation. The Gate itself had been reworked by the humans, there were no outward signs of which alien species it came from. If she could figure out where the technology originated, she might be able to figure out exactly how this particular Gate operated.

"What's working?" the same man who had called before asked as he walked in, "What are you doing here?"

The Doctor just flashed him with the sonic, not even bothering to look, "Shimmer!" and he was a cactus too, "Now tell us, quickly, what's going on, the Master, Harold Saxon, Skeletor, whatever you're calling him, what's he doing up there?"

"He's just repairing the Gate," Addams replied.

"I checked the readings," her partner added, eying the Professor, who was standing a bit too close to their controls for comfort, "He's done good work. It's operational."

"Who are you?" the Doctor eyed them, "We met someone like you. He was brilliant, but he was little and red."

"That's a Zocci," Addams said at the same time as the Professor replied, "He was a Zocci."

Addams and the man looked at her, shocked that she knew.

"They are Vinvocci," she continued.

"Completely different," the man nodded.

"And the Gate is Vinvocci," Addams added, "We're a salvage team. We picked up the signal when the humans reactivated it, and as soon as it's working, we can transport it to the ship."

"Vinvocci…" the Professor nodded, looking at the readings, the parameters now narrowed down to only one possible technology that it could be.

"But what does it do?" the Doctor frowned.

"It's a medical device to repair the body," the Professor replied as the male went to answer, "It makes people better."

"No," the Doctor shook his head, looking at her, "There's got to be more."

"I know," she sighed, "Every single warning says the Master's going to do something colossal."

"So that thing's like a sickbed, yes?" Wilf asked as the two Time Lords went back to their examination.

"More or less," Addams shrugged.

"Well, pardon me for asking, but why is it so big?"

"Oh, good question," the Doctor looked at the Professor, "Why's it so big?"

"You really paid  _no_  attention in school didn't you?" she shook her head, "It doesn't just mend one person at a time."

"That would be ridiculous," the male agreed.

"It mends whole planets," Addams nodded.

"It does what?" the Doctor gaped.

"…it transmits the medical template across...the entire population," the Professor realized, before she and the Doctor ran out of the room. They dashed across the basement and to the main floor, looking around till they found what had become a second lab where the Gate was set up across the room.

"Turn the Gate off, right now!" the Doctor shouted as they burst in.

"At arms!" a man shouted and the guards aimed their riffles at them.

The Professor quickly pulled out her blaster and waited for them to make the first move.

"No, no, no, no," the Doctor shook his head, "Whatever you do, just don't let him near that device."

"Oh, like that was ever gonna happen," the Master scoffed before pulling off the straightjacket he'd been confined in with a burst of electricity and leapt into the Gate, "Homeless, was I? Destitute and dying? Well, look at me now."

"Deactivate it," the Professor ordered, "All of you, turn the whole thing off!"

But no one moved. Naismith and his daughter began to shake their heads slowly as the Master laughed.

"He's...inside my head," Naismith grimaced.

"Get out of there!" the Doctor shouted at the Master. The Master just fired an energy bolt at the Doctor and he fell to the floor, the Professor firing a bolt at the Gate in retaliation but the energy was just absorbed.

"Doctor!" Wilf shouted, stumbling into the room, "Professor…there's this face..."

The Doctor ran over to Wilf, "What is it? What can you see?"

"Well, it's him. I can see him! I can see his face."

"There's something wrong...it seems to be affecting the President," a female news reporter stated on the television where the American President had his face down in his hands, shaking his head.

The Master laughed as the Professor tried to shut down the Gate, "I can't turn it off!" she called to the Doctor.

"That's because I locked it," the Master sneered.

The Doctor grabbed Wilf, "Wilfred! Get inside, get him out," he shoved Wilf into a dual radiation control booth and stepped into the other one himself, "Just need to filter the levels…"

"Oh!" Wilf breathed, "I can see again. He's gone."

"Radiation shielding. Now, press the button, let me out."

"You what?"

"I can't get out until you press the button, that button there."

Wilf pushed the button, locking himself in as the Doctor ran out and back to the Professor.

"50 seconds and counting," the Master grinned.

"To what?" the Doctor demanded.

"Oh, you're gonna love this."

The Doctor and Professor just turned to the controls, frantically trying to work them, ignoring everything around them.

"What is it?" the Doctor demanded to the Master, "Hypnotism? Mind control? You're grafting your thoughts inside them, is that it?"

"Oh, that's way too easy," he laughed, "No, no, no, they're not gonna think like me…"

"They are going to BECOME him," the Professor cut in.

The Master glared at her, it was so like her to steal his thunder, to figure out his plans. He was rather glad that the Professor hadn't been travelling with the Doctor before now, or else the Doctor might have never fallen for any of his previous traps and plots from before the war. But he had little time to think on that.

"And, zero!" he shouted.

A wave of energy burst out of the Gate and spread across the globe as the Master laughed.

The Doctor and Professor watched in horror as Naismith, his daughter, and the others in the room, save Wilf who was searching for something in his pocket, started to shake their heads fiercely, rapidly, change before their very eyes into the Master.

"He can't have!" the Doctor gasped.

"What is it?" Wilf called, before putting his mobile to his ear, "Donna?" and looking up, horrified, "Doctor!" he shouted, "Professor! She's starting to remember. What is it? What have you done, you monster?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you talking to me?" the Master grinned, "Or to me?"

"Or to me?" Naismith/Master asked.

"Or to me?" his daughter/Master smirked.

"Or to me?" one of the guards/Master asked.

"Or to us?" the guards/Masters readied their weapons.

"Breaking news, I'm everyone," the reporter/Master announced, "And everyone in the world is me!"

"I'm President," the president/Master appeared on the telly, "President of the United States. Look at me!" the press/Masters cheered, "Ooh, financial solution…deleted. Ha ha!"

The Master walked across the floor, his duplicates behind him, "The human race were always your favorites. But now, there is no human race. There is only...the Master race," and then all the Masters laughed at them.

To be continued…

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, we're getting to the end now. And now we know for sure, the Professor will be regenerating but there'll be a little twist to that...I'll just give a small hint, she and the Doctor are not going to regenerate from the same thing killing them. I have to say though, I'm so sad, I love the 10s and I don't want to see them go :( But...I LOVED writing the interactions between the 11s and I think/hope you'll really enjoy the new Professor :)


	7. The End of Time (Part 2)

Wilf was tied to a chair on the other side of Naismith's office, the Master grinning as he looked between him and the Doctor, who was strapped to a wheeled chair across from Wilf. While Wilf was simply tied up, the Doctor was strapped down, his wrists and ankles bound with a strap across his chest and a gag over his mouth. Though even that was nothing compared to the Professor. She was tied to a wheeled chair as well, her ankles, legs, thighs, wrists, forearms, chest, stomach, and head all strapped back, a gag over her mouth, a set of ropes and even some chains holding her down as well. She was completely immobile as the Master had deemed her far more dangerous than the Doctor even on a bad day.

"Now, then," the Master smirked, "I've got a planet to run," he walked over to the center of the room where a small computer was set up, "Is everybody ready?"

"6,727,949,338 versions of us awaiting orders," the Naismith/Master reported from the labs.

"This is Washington," the president/Master appeared, "As President of the United States, I can transfer all the United Nations protocols to you immediately, putting you in charge of all the Earth's defenses."

"UNIT HQ, Geneva reporting," the UNIT/Master called, "All under your command, sir."

"And this is the Central Military Commission here in Beijing, sir," the commissioner/Master added, "With over 2.5 million soldiers, sir. Present arms!" the image changed to an army of Masters, presenting their rifles.

"Enough soldiers and weapons to turn this planet into a warship," the Master nodded, "Nothing to say Professor?" he grinned at her, "That's a first. How about you...Doctor?" he walked over to him, "What's that? Pardon? Sorry?"

"You let them go, you swine," Wilf glared.

"Oh, your dad's still kicking up a fuss."

"Yeah? Well, I'd be proud if I was."

"Hush, now," he put a finger to his lips, "Listen to your Master," Wilf's mobile began to ring, surprising him, "But that…that's a mobile..."

"Yeah, it's mine, let me turn it off."

He shook his head and walked towards him, "No, no, no. I don't think you understand. Everybody on this planet...is me. And  _I'm_  not phoning you, so who the hell is that?" he knelt down and began to search Wilf.

"It's nobody. Probably some ring back call."

He pulled out a revolver, "Ooh, and look at this. Good man!" and dropped it on the floor, continuing to search till he grabbed the phone, "'Donna.' Who's Donna?"

"She's no one, just leave it."

The Master answered it, setting it to speaker so they could all hear her, "Gramps...don't hang up. You've got to help me. I ran out. Everyone was changing."

He put his hand over it, "Who is she? Why didn't she change?"

"Gramps, I can't hear you."

"Well, it was this thing the Doctor did...he did it to her," Wilf replied, "The meta-crisis."

"Oh...he loves playing with Earth girls. Ugh!"

"Are you there?" Donna called.

The Master turned to the computer, "Find her. Trace the call."

"Trace the call!" the Naismith/Master ordered his technician/Masters.

"Are you still there?" Donna tried again, "Can you hear me?"

"Say goodbye to the freak, granddad," he held the phone to Wilf.

"Donna, get out of there!" Wilf shouted, "Look, just get out of there! Run!"

"She's on Wessex Lane, Chiswick," a technician/Master reported.

"Open the phone lines," the Naismith/Master ordered, "Everyone on Wessex Lane, red alert."

"What do I do?" Donna asked.

"Run, sweetheart, that's all," was all Wilf could say, "Run for your life!"

"There's more of them."

"Donna? What's happening? Are you still there?"

"They're everywhere..."

"Donna? Look, I'm telling you. Run, Donna! Just run, sweetheart. Just run!"

"It's not just them...I can see those things again. Those creatures. Why can I see a giant wasp?"

"Donna, don't think about that, Donna, my love, don't!"

"And it hurts. My head, it keeps getting hotter, and hotter, and hotter, and hotter, and hotter!"

Just then, she screamed.

"What did I..."

The line went dead.

"Donna?" Wilf called, frantic, "What was that? Donna...Donna, are you there? Donna…Donna! Donna..."

The Master got up and strode over to the Doctor, pulling off the gag, "That's better," the Doctor grinned, "Hello," he glanced at the Professor, "Still scared of her then?" the Master just glared at him. He rolled his eyes, "Did you think I'd leave my friend without a defense mechanism? The Professor took care of that a long time ago."

"Doctor, what happened?" Wilf asked.

"She's alright, she's fine, I promise. The Professor made it so she'll just sleep if she starts to remember too much."

Wilf looked at the Professor who tried to nod but was far too immobile to do anything.

"Tell me, where's your TARDIS?" the Master demanded.

The Doctor looked back at him, "You could be so wonderful."

"Where is it?"

"You're a genius. You're stone cold brilliant. You are, I swear, you really are. Even the Professor agreed once that you could be so much more. You could be beautiful. With a mind like that, we could all travel the stars. It would be my honor, 'cos you don't need to own the Universe, just see it. To have the privilege of seeing the whole of time and space. That's ownership enough."

"Would it stop, then? The noise in my head?"

"We can help."

"I don't know what I'd be without that noise."

"Wonder what I'd be, without you."

He sniffled, "Yeah."

"What does he mean?" Wilf frowned, "What noise?"

"It began on Gallifrey," the Master turned to him, "As children. Not that you'd call it childhood," he sat down on the desk, "More a life of duty. Eight years old. I was taken for initiation. To stare into the Untempered Schism…"

"What does that mean?"

"It's a gap in the fabric of reality," the Doctor explained, "You can see into the Time Vortex itself. And it hurts."

The Professor closed her eyes, boy did it hurt.

~/~\~

_She turned away from the Untempered Schism, her body tense as she walked past the Keepers of the Schism, both men reaching out to place a hand on her shoulders as she passed, as they did with every child, it was the only comfort they could afford to the children who looked upon the Vortex for the first time._

_She trembled as she walked down the steps of the temple just outside the Academy where the Schism was kept, tears filling her eyes. Her head hurt, her head hurt so badly! It felt like it was being ripped apart, tiny little needles sticking her entire body with every move she made._

_She'd just reached the bottom step when she fell to her knees, crying, the pain too much to handle._

_A moment later, a pair of arms wrapped around her._

_She looked up, her vision blurred by the tears, but she could see, it was the boy. The boy who she'd bumped into, the boy she'd taught chess, the boy who really HAD carried all her supplies to her classes when her arm had been cased. And here he was, again, right when she needed him._

_She turned and buried her face in his small chest, clutching his shirt as she cried._

_"Shh," he whispered, rubbing small circles in her back, "I know, it hurts. I know."_

_It was the day before she'd been born. The day before she would turn nine years old. The day every child was taken to the Schism to look upon time after nearly a year of schooling, completing their initiation into their society. They were taken from their families at the age of eight and taught about time and space, about the Vortex for nearly a year before being allowed to look upon it, to understand it on a deeper level._

_"I'm here," he whispered, dropping a small kiss into her hair as he held her, "I've got you. It'll be alright, trust me, you'll be alright. I promise."_

_And though she still felt the pain, and though she'd only known him not even a year, she trusted him, she believed him. She WOULD be alright again, as long as he was there…_

~/~\~

"They took me there, in the dark," the Master frowned, thinking of is own time at the Schism, "I looked into time, old man, and I heard it calling to me. Drums, the never ending drums. Listen to it," he looked at the Doctor, "Listen."

"Then let's find it, you, her, and me."

The Master frowned, "But that's just it isn't it. It can't be us," the Doctor frowned, watching him, concerned, "'Cos it's always the Doctor and his Companion, or the Doctor and his Bonded…it's never two with you. You always have just  _one_ of another species with you, one human and ONE other Time Lord…not two..." he started to grin, the Doctor growing anxious, "Oh well, that's easily taken care of, isn't it?"

The Doctor's eyes widened as the Master turned and grabbed something out of his pocket, a syringe, "What's that?"

He just smirked and turned to the Professor, walking towards her as she struggled in her restraints.

"Stop!" the Doctor shouted as he uncapped the syringe, "Leave her alone!"

Instead he just jabbed the needle into her neck, quickly injecting her with the solution. Her eyes widened in horror as her body analyzed the solution, before closing in pain, tears in the corners of them as her body tensed.

"What is it? What did you do to her?"

The Professor's eyes were screwed shut but the Master loosened the gag, he wanted her to tell him herself.

"A…aspirin…" she forced out, trying to get her body to fight it, the human pill that acted as a poison to their people.

It was something difficult to pinpoint. Aspirin it had been, but…it was diluted enough where it wouldn't kill her outright but in, what she could estimate was, a few hours, at most, yet it was concentrated enough where she'd only be able to truly burn it out of her body by utilizing a healing coma…which she couldn't afford to do right now.

He truly was a sick and twisted genius.

"No…" the Doctor breathed, seeming to have realized the same thing as her. He glared at the Master, "How could you do that to her? We're the only three left!"

He laughed, "It wasn't just me. I've got six billion voices agreeing with me and six billion can't be wrong…" he trailed a moment, before realizing something, "The noise exists within my head…and now within six billion heads. Everyone on Earth can hear it. Oh...oh, yes!" he laughed before dropping into a crouch, his face becoming skeletal again.

"The Gate wasn't enough," the Professor glared at him as her body started to shake, trying to fight off the injection, "You're dying just like me."

"This body was born out of death. All it can do is die," he sneered, standing up and turned to the Doctor, "But what did you say to me, back in the wasteland? You said, 'the end of time.'"

"I said something is returning," the Doctor said, his gaze flickering back and forth between the Professor and the Master, "We were shown a prophecy. That's why we needed your help."

"What if I'm part of it? Don't you see? The drumbeat is calling from so far away, from the end of time itself. And now it's been amplified six billion times. Triangulate all those signals. I could find its source! Oh, Doctor...that's what your prophecy was. Me!" he slapped the Doctor's cheeks, "Where's the TARDIS?"

"No," he shook his head, struggling to get out of his restraints…if they could get to the TARDIS he could make a solution to counteract the aspirin, "Just stop. Just think."

"Kill him," the Master pointed at Wilf. A helmeted soldier walked over, raising his gun, "I need that technology, Doctor. Tell me where it is or the old man is dead."

"Don't tell him!" Wilf shouted.

"I'll kill him, right now!"

"You know," the Professor ground out, nearly biting her lip in pain, before looking up at him, "The most impressive thing about you is that, after all this time, you are still just a  _stupid little boy_."

"Take aim," the Master ordered.

"You have got six  _billion_  pairs of eyes, but you still can't see the obvious, can you?"

"Like what?" he took her bait.

"That guard is one inch too tall."

The Master turned to look at the guard when the man lashed out, hitting him in the face with the butt of his gun. He pulled off his helmet as the Master fell, to reveal the male Vinvocci.

"Oh, my God, I hit him!" he gasped, "I've never hit anyone in my life."

"Well, come on!" Addams ran into the room and over to Wilf, "We need to get out of here, fast."

She managed to free him and moved towards the Professor as her partner went to the Doctor.

"God bless the cactuses!" Wilf breathed.

"That's  _cacti_ ," the Doctor corrected.

"That's racist!" the male glared, struggling to get the restraints off.

"Come on!" Addams shouted, "We've got to get out."

"There's too many buckles and straps!"

Addams had to agree, struggling with the woman's restraints as well, "Just...wheel them!" she ran behind her and started to push the chair as her partner did the same for the Doctor.

"No, no, no!" the Doctor shouted, "Get me out! No, no, don't! Don't! No, no, no..." but the aliens didn't listen, wheeling them out and into the corridor.

"Which way?" the male alien looked around.

"This way," Addams turned, wheeling the Professor off.

"No, no, no, the other way!" the Doctor shouted as the Professor groaned, "We've got my TARDIS."

"I know what I'm doing."

"No, no, just...just listen to me!" and then he spotted something, "Not the stairs...not the stairs!" the aliens just continued to push the chairs down the wide steps towards the cellar, each bump jolting them, "Worst...rescue...ever!" Addams rolled her eyes at him as she led the way back to the basement lab, "Just...stop and listen to me!"

The guards appeared, blocking the way out of the room when the Master arrived, smiling, "Gotcha."

"You think so?" Addams pressed her wristband.

"No, no, no…don't, don't!" the Doctor shouted.

But it was too late.

The five of them disappeared and reappeared on the Observation Deck of the Vinvocci ship, hovering in outer space.

"Now get me out of this thing!" the Doctor shouted, struggling.

"Don't say thanks, will you?" Addams glared.

"He's not going to let us go," the Professor groaned.

"Just hurry up and get me out!" the Doctor struggled more.

"Oh, my goodness me..." Wilf breathed, seeing the Earth out the viewing window, "We're in space!"

"Come on!"

"Alright!" Addams shouted.

"Get a move on!"

They finally managed to free the Doctor and he quickly flashed the sonic on the control panel for the teleport, making it explode, making sure the Master couldn't follow. He turned to the Professor, flashing the sonic at her, releasing her from the bindings and running over to her, kneeling before her.

She put her hand on his shoulder, using him to help push herself up, and turned to Addams, "Where's your flight deck?"

"But we're safe!" Addams shook her head, "We're a hundred thousand miles above the Earth."

"And he has got every single missile on the planet ready to fire!"

Addams blinked, "Good point," before turning and leading them away. The Doctor put an arm around the Professor, helping her to follow when they noticed Wilf just standing there.

"Wilf!" the Doctor called.

"But we're in space!" Wilf breathed.

"Yup."

Wilf laughed and turned to them, following them as they ran through the ship to the flight deck.

"We have to close it down!" the Professor shouted as they ran into the room, turning to lean on a device as the Doctor fished for the sonic.

"No chance, mate, we're going home," the male alien replied.

"We're a salvage team," Addams agreed, "Local politics has nothing to do with us. Not unless there's a carnival. Sooner we get back to Vinvocci space the better."

"You're not leaving," the Doctor flashed the ship and it went dead, only a few lights still on. He shushed them as the ship creaked, waiting.

"No sign of any missiles..." Addams glared at him after a moment, "No sign of...anything. You've wrecked the place!"

"The engines are burnt out," the other alien reported, "Just auxiliary lights. Everything else is kaput. We can't move. We're stuck, in orbit."

"Thanks to you. You idiot!"

And with that, she stormed out, her partner with her.

"I know you, though," Wilf turned to him as he went to the Professor's side, helping her sit as she started to shake again, closing her eyes as she focused on manipulating the aspirin within her, "I bet you've got a plan, haven't you? Eh? Come on! You've always got a trick up your sleeve. Nice little bit of the old Doctor flim-flam, ha ha, sort of thing? Eh?" the Doctor just looked up at him, solemn, "Oh, blimey…"

~8~

The Doctor sat by the Professor, both of them working on some wiring. He'd tried to convince her to at least attempt a partial healing coma, but she refused. They needed to get the ship working and he would need her help. She'd also pointed out that, once in the coma, it was damaging to wake up midway though, which he had to concede to, recalling his last bout in the coma during his regeneration.

He glanced up, looking out the window at Earth, when he spotted a white light streak across the sky. He stood up and walked to the window, watching it as the Professor eyed it from where she sat, both of them knowing it wasn't a typical meteor.

~8~

Wilf walked into the flight deck to see the Doctor and Professor, sitting side-by-side, working on some more wiring, the Professor was shaking noticeably and there was a sheen layer of sweat on her brow. The Doctor was casting quick glances at her every so often, clearly worried for her as he had right to be.

"Aye, aye," he tried to smile as he walked over to them, "Got this old tub mended?"

"Just trying to fix the heating," the Doctor remarked.

He sat down beside them and looked out the window, "D'you know, I've always dreamt of a view like that," he laughed, "I'm an astronaut. It's dawn over England, look. Brand new day," he sighed, "My wife's buried down there. I might never visit her again now. D'you think he changed them, in their graves?"

"We're sorry."

"No, not your fault."

"Isn't it?"

"It's the psychotic child's fault," the Professor cut in, her voice raspy, "Not yours."

Wilf looked back out the window, "Ooh...1948, I was over there. End of the Mandate in Palestine. Private Mott. Skinny little idiot I was, stood on this rooftop, the middle of a skirmish. It was like a blizzard, all them bullets in the air. The world gone mad…yeah, you don't want to listen to an old man's tales, do you?"

"We're older than you," the Doctor told him.

"Get away."

"I'm 906, she's 904."

"What, really, though?"

"Yeah."

"900 years...we must look like insects to you."

"We think you look like giants," the Professor smiled at him lightly.

Wilf nodded, swallowing hard, before he pulled out his revolver, "Listen, I...I want you to have this. I've kept it all this time, and I thought..."

"No," the Doctor shook his head.

"No, but if you take it, you could..."

"No. You had that gun in the mansion. You could have shot the Master there and then."

"I would've," the Professor remarked, showing Wilf her blaster, the Master had left it on her lap, seeing her too restrained to use it, "But he means too much to you," she added, looking at the Doctor.

Wilf shrugged a bit, "Too scared, I suppose."

"I'd be proud," the Doctor told him.

"Of what?"

"If you were my dad."

"Oh, come on, don't start. But you said...you were told...he will knock four times, and then you die. Well, that's him, isn't it, the Master? That noise in his head? The Master is going to kill you."

"Yeah."

"Then kill him first," he held the gun out.

"That's how the Master started," the Professor told him, leaning back, closing her eyes as she rested against a cool piece of metal, "It's not like we're innocent. We've taken lives. I killed millions during the war against the Daleks…"

"I got worse," the Doctor cut in, looking down, "I got clever. Manipulated people into taking their own."

The Professor sighed, her eyes blinking open, a sad look in them, "Sometimes, during the war, I used to think a Time Lord lives too long. Sees too much…"

The Doctor nodded, understanding, to see that much death, it made you question if there was anything good out there, especially when it's not just war but...seeing all your friends die, as you live on…it could be just as damaging, "I can't," he shook his head, "I just can't."

"If the Master dies, what happens to all the people?" Wilf asked.

"Don't know."

"Doctor, what happens?"

"The template snaps," the Professor stated.

"What, they go back to being human?" she nodded, "They're alive and human? Then don't you dare, sir. Don't you DARE put him before them. Now you take this, that's an order, Doctor. Take the gun. You take the gun and save your life. And please don't die. You're the most wonderful man and I don't want you to die!" he sobbed as he took the Doctor's hand and tried to place the gun in it.

"Never," he pushed the gun away. In a way...he would almost welcome the Master killing him, as long as he regenerated in the end and didn't die completely. The Professor was dying, he didn't want to leave her to regenerate alone, not when she'd been forced to nearly every time. No, if he was meant to die, he would die, with her, the two of them, together, as it always had been, as it always would be...

"That's why he's got me," the Professor held up her blaster again, cutting off his thoughts.

He looked at her, a bit startled. But he realized, this was just like with Jenny, she still considered herself broken, but more so because of the war, that she was already too infected, to desensitized to the sight of death and the act of killing. She had told him of the few clones she had killed in trying to prevent Jenny from killing, to prevent the killing from infecting his daughter, and here she was, about to do the same for him, to protect him from having to kill his friend if it came down to it.

She was going to infect herself, push herself to do it, just so he wouldn't have to.

"A star...fell from the sky," the Master's voice came over the speakers, "Don't you want to know where from? Because now it makes sense. The whole of my life. My destiny. The star was a diamond. And the diamond...is a Whitepoint Star," the Doctor gasped as the Professor's eyes widened, "And I have worked all night to sanctify that gift. Now the star is mine. I can increase the signal and use it as a lifeline. Do you get it now? Do you see? Keep watching. This should be...spectacular. Over and out."

"What's he on about?" Wilf frowned, "What's he doing? What does that mean?"

"A Whitepoint Star is only found on one planet," the Professor told him, "Gallifrey."

"Which means…" the Doctor swallowed hard, "It's the Time Lords. The Time Lords are returning."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Wilf asked, "That's your people."

The Doctor simply grabbed Wilf's gun and shoved it in his pocket, helping the Professor up as they ran from the room. Wilf followed, confused, racing after them down the hall and into the Observation Deck. The Doctor ran straight to the comms. and switched them on, the Professor examining the controls.

Four beats played over and over.

They shook their heads in alarm before running back to the flight deck just as Addams and her partner entered, "What's that?" Addams asked.

Her partner checked the comms. in that room now that they'd been opened from the Observation Deck, "Coming from Earth. It's on every single wavelength."

"But you said your people were dead, past tense," Wilf turned to the Doctor as he moved to help the Professor get the controls up.

"Inside the Time War," the Professor explained quickly, "When the whole War was Time Locked…"

"Sealed inside a bubble," the Doctor tried to help.

"It's not a bubble."

"But think of a bubble."

"Nothing can get in or get out of the Time Lock," she turned to him, "Nothing can get in or get out..." she swallowed hard, "Except something that was already there."

"The signal," Wilf gasped, "Since he was a kid."

"If they can follow the signal, they can escape, before they die," the Doctor nodded.

It took time for the Time Lock to set into place, to solidify and actually lock away a planet. The Time Lords, they had activated a measure that would wipe out the whole of creation, began the process of tearing the Time Vortex apart. It was meant to spread across the galaxy from the heart of Gallifrey, ripping their planet apart first before blasting out into the Universe with their planet as the epicenter, the minds of their people at the eye of the storm. The Time Lock had just managed to set in place a moment before it had spread, a moment after the planet had destoryed itself, stopping it, saving the Universe. It appeared...those few moments before the lock slid into place were the moments the Time Lords were using to try and escape...

"Well, big reunion," Wilf grinned, "We'll have a party."

"There will be no party," the Doctor shook his head.

"But I've heard you talk about your people like they're wonderful."

"That's how we choose to remember them," the Professor told him, "The Time Lords of old. But then they went to war, an endless war, and it changed them, right to the core. The war infected them."

"You've seen our enemies, Wilf," the Doctor said grimly, "The Time Lords are more dangerous than any of them."

"Time Lords?" Addams frowned, "What lords? Anyone want to explain?"

"Right, you!" the Doctor pointed at her, "This is a salvage ship, yes? You go trawling the asteroid fields for junk?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"You've got asteroid lasers," the Professor said.

"Yeah, but they're all frazzled," her partner shook his head.

"Consider them un-frazzled," the Doctor flipped a lever and two doors on opposite sides of the room opened, "You there," he turned to Addams, "I'm going to need you on navigation. And you," then her partner, "Get in the laser pod. Wilfred?"

"Yeah?" Wilf looked at him as Addams ran to the navigation and the other alien to one of the doors.

"Laser number two. The old soldier's got one more battle."

"Right," he stood and rushed over.

"This ship can't move," Addams argued, "It's dead!"

"Fix the heating," the Doctor pushed a large lever and the ship started up.

"But now they can see us!"

"Oh, yes!" he turned to the wheel.

"This is my ship and you're not moving it. Step away from the wheel."

"You are  _not_  flying this ship," the Professor agreed, nudging him away and taking his place, "I've flown war ships," she reminded him, "You're going to need me to outmaneuver the missiles."

He nodded and turned to Addams as she moved to protest again, "There's an old Earth saying, captain, a phrase of great power and wisdom and consolation to the soul in times of need."

"What's that, then?"

"Allons-y!"

The Professor pulled the wheel back and the ship took off.

"Come on!" the Doctor stood beside her, cheering as the ship entered the atmosphere, "Come on..."

"You are blinkin', flippin' mad!" Addams shouted.

"You two," he turned to Wilf and the other alien, "What did I say? Lasers."

"What for?" the alien frowned.

"Because of the missiles," the Professor told them.

"We've got to fight off the entire planet!" the Doctor agreed and the two ran off for the lasers.

"We've got incoming!" Addams shouted from the navigation, seeing the lasers on radar.

"Open fire!" the Professor ordered as she took evasive action with the missiles heading towards them, weaving in and out of them.

"Open fire!" the Doctor repeated, "Come on, Wilf!"

Finally the two started firing at the missiles, causing them to explode.

"And there's more," Addams called, "16 of them. Oh! And another 16."

"Go to the rear-gun lasers!" the Professor ordered as Addams headed for the lasers.

"You two, open fire!" the Doctor took charge, "NOW!"

A large number of missiles were taken out relatively quickly as the Professor made the ship loop to avoid some others, "No, you don't!" she spun she ship, allowing Wilf and the alien to fire, destroying the other missiles, "Lock the navigation!"

"Onto what?" Addams asked, rushing back to navigation.

"England!" the Doctor shouted, "The Naismith mansion!" a few moments later, as they reached land, the Doctor called out for a report, "Destination?"

"50 kliks and closing. We've locked on to the house. We are going to stop, though?" the Professor and Doctor didn't answer, "We  _are_  going to stop?"

The ship just zoomed closer, over the countryside, as Wilf and the alien arrived back on deck.

"Professor!" Wilf ran over, seeing the Professor piloting, and turned to the Doctor, "Doctor, you said you were going to die..."

"He said what?" Addams shrieked.

"But is that all of us? I won't stop you, sir, but is this it?"

The Professor aimed the ship right at the mansion but pulled up at the last moment. The Doctor knelt down and lifted a hatch from the flight deck floor, the gun in his hand. He looked over at the Professor who lifted her blaster as well and, with a nod, they both jumped down. They fell through the sky, crashing through the glass dome of Naismith manor and onto the floor in the center of the Gate room, the Doctor on his stomach, the Professor on her back. She rolled over to fire at the Master but he seemed to be expecting it and kicked her blaster out of her hands. She cursed the aspirin, her strength was fading fast, she hadn't been able to hold onto it. The Doctor, though, seemed to have just a bit more luck, holding onto his gun and turning it on the President of Gallifrey, Rassilon, as he stood before four other Time Lords and Ladies, two weeping, in a bright white light on the side of the room. But he was too weak and fell to the floor, struggling to stand.

"My Lord Doctor," the President sneered, "My Lady Professor. My Lord Master. We are gathered for the end."

The Doctor looked to his side where the Professor was struggling to get onto her knees, panting, the exertion of it all accelerating the aspirin. He grunted, slowly rising to all fours and then kneeling, helping the Professor onto her knees as well.

"Listen to me," he turned to the President, "You can't…"

"It is a fitting paradox that our salvation comes at the hands of our most infamous child," the President cut in.

"Oh, he's not  _saving_  you," the Professor glared, "Don't you realize what he's doing?"

"Hey, no, hey!" the Master cut in, "That's mine. Hush. Look around you. I've transplanted myself into every single human being. But who wants a mongrel little species like them? Because now I can transplant myself into every single Time Lord. Oh, yes, Mr. President, sir, standing there all noble and resplendent and decrepit. Think how much better you're going to look as me!"

The President merely held out his gauntlet-covered hand and it glowed, returning the human race to their original selves.

"No, don't..." the Master cried out like a petulant child, "No, no, no, stop it! No, no! No, no! Don't!"

"On your knees, mankind!" the President barked and the humans in the room dropped down, scared.

"No, that's fine, that's good, because you said salvation. I still saved you, don't forget that."

"The approach begins…"

There was a rumbling and the room got brighter.

"Approach of what?" the Master frowned.

"Something is returning," the Professor glared at him as she hunched over, shaking, sweating, her eyes tearing up in anger and pain, "Don't you  _ever_  listen?  _That_  was the prophecy. Not some _one_ , some _thing_."

"What is it?"

"They're not just bringing back the species," the Doctor said quietly, his arm around the Professor as she shook, trying to get control of her body once more, "It's Gallifrey. Right here, right now."

The humans looked up, seeing another planet looming in the sky through the broken dome and ran out of the room, screaming.

The Master fell to his knees, "But I...I did this. I get the credit!" he looked at the President, "I'm on your side."

"Come on, get out of the way!" they heard Wilf shouting as he ran into the room, "Get out of the way! Doctor...Professor…"

"Somebody, please!" a technician called, locked in the radiation booth.

"Alright! I've got you…" Wilf ran over, getting in the other side.

"Wilf, don't...don't!" the Doctor shouted.

But it was too late.

Wilf pressed the button, releasing the man, trapping himself, "I've got you. Come on. Go on."

"But this is fantastic, isn't it?" the Master grinned as the Professor and Doctor glared at him, "The Time Lords restored."

"You weren't there in the final days of the War, you coward," the Professor spat, recalling her regeneration at that time, the realization that came with it, "You never saw what was born. If the Time Lock is broken, then  _everything_ is coming through, not just the Daleks, but the Skaro Degradations, the Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child, the Could-Have-Been King with his army of Meanwhiles and Never-Weres, the War turning to hell. And  _that_  is what you have opened, right above the Earth. Hell!"

"My kind of world."

The Doctor shook his head, "Just listen! 'Cos even the Time Lords can't survive that!"

"We will initiate the Final Sanction," the President nodded, "The end of time will come at my hand. The rupture will continue, until it rips the Time Vortex apart."

And now that Gallifrey was appearing in those final seconds outside the last moments of the Time Lock, they could rip the Vortex apart from there.

"That's suicide!" the Master gasped.

"We will ascend to become creatures of consciousness alone, free of these bodies, free of time, and cause and effect, while creation itself ceases to be."

"You see now?" the Doctor rounded on him, "That's what they were planning in the final days of the War. I had to stop them."

"Then take me with you, Lord President," the Master knelt down and stretched out his arms, "Let me ascend into glory."

"You are diseased, albeit a disease of our own making," the President sneered, "No more."

The Master lowered his arms, realizing the truth, after all this, he had no way out. The President held out his gauntlet-covered hand once more, the energy starting to hum, when there was a click.

The Doctor stood, the revolver aimed at the President, as the Professor fell on all fours, a hand on her stomach as she felt her organs slowly start to fail.

"Choose your enemy well," the President glared at the Doctor, "We are many. The Master is but one."

"But he's the President," the Master argued, "Kill him, and Gallifrey could be yours!" the Doctor turned the gun on the Master, "He's to blame, not me! ...oh, the link is inside my head. Kill me, the link gets broken, they go back. You never would, you coward. Go on then. Do it," the Doctor turned back to the President, "Exactly. It's not just me, it's him. He's the link, kill him!"

"The final act of your life is murder," the President eyed him, "But which one of us?"

The Doctor's gaze hardened…when he felt a hand on his leg.

He looked down to see the Professor staring at something past the President's shoulder. He followed her gaze to see an older woman with brown hair lower her hands from her weeping position, to look at him, tears running down her face. His eyes softened and filled with tears of his own as he looked upon her. She smiled at him softly,  _so proud_ , before motioning with her eyes at something behind him.

He switched the gun to the Master once more.

"Get out of the way," he told the man. The Master smiled and dove to the side as the Doctor shot the device holding the Whitepoint Star and completing the link, it went up in flames. He whirled around and glared at the President, "The link is broken. Back into the Time War, Rassilon. Back into hell."

Gallifrey flickered above them.

"You'll die with me, Doctor," the President threatened.

"I know," he steeled himself when someone grabbed his hand and tugged. He looked over as the Professor pulled herself to her feet to stand beside him, always.

Rassilon held up his hand, aiming the gauntlet at them.

"Get out of the way," the Master called from behind them.

The Doctor jumped to the side, pulling the Professor down with him, as the Master shot a bolt of energy at the President, striking him in the chest, forcing him backwards.

"You did this to me!" he roared, "All of my life!" he sent a bolt with his other hand, "You made me!" with each bolt he shot out, he stepped closer to them, "One! Two! Three! FOUR!"

With that final strike, he stepped into the light, falling back to Gallifrey with the others, the planet fading from the sky.

~8~

The Doctor was lying on his back on the floor when he came to, his hand still holding the Professor's as she lay on her side beside him, facing him. He rolled onto his side towards her as her eyes flickered open, "I'm alive," he breathed, smiling, "I've...there was..." he laughed, pulling himself towards her and kissing her deeply, "We're still alive!" he laughed shakily, pushing himself up to kneel beside her. He truly hadn't believed they would survive that confrontation. Now, he just had to get her to the TARDIS and then he could figure out an antidote to the aspirin and they'd both be fi...

Four knocks.

Someone had knocked four times on glass. The Doctor's eyes went wide as he realized the noise and what it meant while the Professor's filled with tears and closed, her face scrunching in pain, not just her own anymore.

Four more knocks.

And four more.

He turned to see Wilf, still in the booth.

Four more knocks and a little wave.

"They've gone, then?" he asked, "Good…oh. If you could let me out..."

"Yeah," he breathed as the Professor took his hand, forcing herself up to sit, gripping her head with the other hand as the movement jarred her.

"Only, this thing seems to be making a bit of a noise."

He stood up, helping the Professor up as well, "The Master...left the nuclear bolt running. It's gone into overload."

"And that's bad, is it?"

"No...'cos all the excess radiation gets vented inside there. Vinvocci glass contains it. All 500,000 rads, about to flood that thing."

"Oh!" he chuckled a bit, "Well, you'd better let me out, then."

"Except it's gone critical," the Professor leaned heavily on the device that had created the link with Gallifrey, "Touch one control and it floods. Even the sonic would set it off."

"I'm sorry…"

"Sure," the Doctor whispered.

"Look, just leave me."

"Ok," his voice broke, "Right, then...I will," he started to pace, knowing he couldn't leave the man there to die, "'Cos you had to go in there, didn't you? You had to go and get stuck, oh, yes! 'Cos that's who you are, Wilfred. You were always this. Waiting for me, all this time."

"No, really, just leave me. I'm an old man, Doctor. I've had my time."

"Well, exactly. Look at you. Not remotely important. But me? I could do so much more!" he yelled at the ceiling, "So much more! But this is what I get. My reward. And it's not fair!" he pushed a number of items off a desk, breathing heavily. To have come SO close to surviving, to having enough time to save the Professor...

"Let me do it," the Professor called quietly, knowing he truly didn't want to die, that he'd been hoping for them to escape with enough time to get her an antidote so they both could live, but it was too late for her, she knew it. He looked at her, startled, "I'm…I'm dying anyway…what's 500,000 rads of radiation gonna do?"

He shook his head and walked over to her, taking her head in his hands, "It could kill you quicker, too quickly…" he shook his head, "I can't lose you like that. Not again," he kissed her once more, "This body…lived too long hasn't it?"

She reached up and pressed his hand to her cheek a moment longer, "It seems we are both going to die at the hands of someone who knocked four times."

And then he realized, Carmen hadn't expressly said it was  _just_  him who would die from the four knock. Four times…yes…the Master, who had knocked his four beat rhythm on the barrel in the shipyard, had been her demise…Wilf, with his knocks on the glass, would be his.

He nodded, tears in his eyes, as he turned and walked across the room.

"No..." Wilf shook his head, "No, no, please, please don't. No, don't. Don't...please don't! Please!"

The Doctor put his hand on the door to the other booth, "Wilfred...it's my honor. Better be quick. Three, two, one," he stepped in and pressed a button, releasing Wilf. His booth filled with the radiation, making him groan and slide to the ground, curling up in pain at it. The Professor stumbled over, Wilf quickly moving to her side to help steady her as they watched the machine switch off. The Doctor slowly unwound himself and sat up.

"What..." Wilf breathed, so relieved he was still alive, "Hello."

"Hi," he frowned.

"Still with us?"

He stood with a gasp of pain, "The system's dead. I absorbed it all. Whole thing's kaput," he put his hand on the door and it just fell open, "Oh.  _Now_  it opens, yeah," he stepped out and reached for the Professor, just pulling her into his arms as he held her, no telling how much time they'd have left now.

"There we are then, safe and sound. Mind you, you're in hell of a state. You've got some battle scars there…" the Doctor simply put a hand to his face and wiped, his cuts healed as he pulled his hand away, "But they've...your face! How did you do that?"

The Doctor looked at his hands, "It's started."

The Professor nodded and the two walked out of the room, Wilf following solemnly behind.

' _Theta?_ ' she called to him quietly, he looked at her, ' _I don't care anymore if it's how the Master got started or not, if he EVER comes back again, I'm just going to blast a hole in him before he can kill me for a third time._ '

He could only give a small smile at that, to be honest, he wouldn't blame her. If he ever had to choose between her or the Master...her, every time.

~8~

Wilf stepped out of the TARDIS as it appeared before his house, the duo behind him, the Professor leaning heavily on the Doctor as they spotted Mrs. Noble, smiling, in the doorway.

"Oh, she's smiling," the Doctor remarked, "As if today wasn't bad enough. Anyway...don't go thinking this is goodbye, Wilf. We'll see you again, one more time."

"What do you mean?" Wilf turned to them, "When's that?"

"Just keep looking. We'll be there."

"Where are you going?"

"To get our reward," he and the Professor turned and headed back into the TARDIS.

~8~

The Doctor stood on top of a scaffolding, the Professor having just knocked out a Sontaran who had been aiming a gun at Martha Jones and Mickey Smith as the pair stood in a warehouse district, looking at a map.

They looked up, spotting them there, and waved. He smiled at them before turning and taking the Professor's hand that wasn't holding the mallet, walking away.

~8~

The Doctor dashed out from the drive of 13 Bannerman Road when he spotted Luke Smith walking across the street on his phone, a car headed for him. He quickly shoved the boy back as the car drove past.

"But it's you!" Luke gasped, seeing him, "You're..." he looked over, watching as the Doctor just headed back to the TARDIS where the Professor was standing in the doorway, "Mum!" he ran across the street, carefully, and over to Sarah Jane, "Mum!"

"What?" she looked at him, "What is it?"

"It's them. It's the Doctor and Professor!" he pointed and Sarah Jane looked over at the Doctor. He raised his hand in a little wave as the Professor nodded. The looks on their faces clearly telling her something was wrong as she waved back sadly.

~8~

They stood off to the side, watching as the bartender of an alien bar handed Captain Jack their note. He looked up at them, startled, before glancing at the note they'd written.

'His name is Alonzo.'

Jack looked a bit confused but the Professor nodded to the man that had just taken a seat beside him, Midshipman Frame from the  _Titanic_. He glanced at the man and then back at them, both of them saluting him. He returned it with a proper salute and they walked off.

~8~

The Doctor and Professor stood behind a man getting his book signed by Verity Newman, author of 'A Journal of Impossible Things,' as she explained the book to him, "No, it's not just a story, no. Every word of it is true. I found my great grandmother's diary in the loft. She was a nurse in 1913, and she fell in love with this man called John Smith, except he was married already, to a woman, Katherine. They were both visitors...from another world. She fell in love with a man from the stars. And she wrote it all down," she closed the book and slid it across to the man.

"Thank you," he walked off and they stepped forward, putting the book before her.

"And who's it for?" Verity asked.

"The Doctor and Professor," the Professor breathed, trying to keep strong and stable, to hold off the regeneration that was slowly setting in as long as she could.

"'To the Doctor and Professor,'" Verity signed, "Funny, that's the name they used…" she looked up at them, stunned to see one of the people from the book before her and, given what her grandmother had written about the little she'd learned of their species from the serving girl Martha, she could guess the girl beside him was the Professor with a different face.

"Was she happy...in the end?" the Doctor asked her. He still felt guilty that Nurse Redfern had fallen in love with him, especially since he knew, even as a human, he could never return her affections, not when he had the Professor.

"Yes. Yes, she was. Were you?"

The Doctor smiled when the Professor took his hand and squeezed it, the two of them heading out.

~8~

They stood by the TARDIS, outside a church, watching as Donna stood with her friends, taking pictures at her wedding.

An older woman they recognized as Minnie had just run off to the bouquet toss when Mrs. Noble looked around and spotted them. She nudged Wilf and he turned around, the two of them quickly walking over to the TARDIS.

"And here you are, same old face," Wilf smiled, "Didn't I tell you you'd be alright? Oh! They've arrested Mr. Naismith. It was on the news. Crimes undisclosed. And his daughter. Both of 'em, locked up. Yeah, but I keep thinking, Doctor, there's one thing you never told me. That woman. Who was she?"

The Doctor just looked away, sad that he'd lost his mother for the second time due to his actions.

The Professor, sensing it, reached into his pocket and handed them a small envelope, to get them off the topic, "We just wanted to give you this," her voice trembled with the strain of holding off the regeneration as long as she was, but if there was anything his Kata was, it was determined.

"Wedding present," the Doctor nodded, "Thing is, we never carry money. So we just popped back in time, borrowed a quid off a really lovely man. Geoffrey Noble, his name was. 'Have it,' he said," Mrs. Noble gasped, "'Have that on me.'"

They nodded their goodbyes to the family and turned to step back into the TARDIS, hoping Donna would enjoy the lottery ticket they'd given her.

~8~

The Doctor leaned heavily against the wall of an alley just outside the Powell Estate. The Professor was in the TARDIS, unable to even stand after the last few trips from the effort of holding back the regeneration, she was determined not to go without him. She knew he was nearing his end as well and wasn't going to make him support her as well as himself. She'd remained behind, knowing this was also one trip he needed to make by himself.

He listened, hearing the familiar voice of Rose Tyler and her mother as they walked towards their home. He had seen all his former Companions, it was only right that, despite everything, he see her as well.

"I'm late now, I've missed it," Rose was saying, "It's midnight. Mickey'll be calling me everything. This is your fault."

"No, it's not," her mother insisted, "It's Jimbo! He said he was going to give us a lift, then he said his axle broke. I can't help it."

"Get rid of him, mum, he's useless."

"Listen to you! With a mechanic. Be fair though, my time of life, I'm not gonna do much better."

"Don't be like that. You never know. There could be someone out there."

"Maybe. One day. Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year!" she hugged her mother, just outside the alley, he could see them now, "Don't stay out all night."

"Try and stop me!" Jackie laughed before walking off.

He grunted just as Rose walked past.

She turned around, squinting in the darkness, trying to see him, "You alright, mate?"

"Yeah," he groaned.

"Too much to drink?"

"Something like that."

"Maybe it's time you went home."

"Yeah."

"Anyway...Happy New Year."

"And you," she started to walk off when he called out, "What year is this?"

"Blimey, how much have you had?" she stopped, laughing as he shrugged, "2005, January 1st."

"2005? Tell you what. I bet you're going to have a really  _great_  year."

"Yeah?" she smiled, "See ya!" she turned and ran off.

He watched till she entered her building before groaning in pain and pushing himself along the wall, one hand on the bricks to support himself. He turned the corner where the TARDIS was parked and struggled to make to it. He cried out in pain and fell to his knees.

He looked up, spotting Ood Sigma standing there in the snow, "We will sing to you and your Bonded, Doctor," the Ood told him, "The Universe will sing you to your sleep."

He looked over, seeing a faint orange-gold energy start up in the TARDIS, and managed to stand up, pushing himself towards it. He threw open the door and stumbled in to see the Professor sitting against the console, biting her lip as she tried to wait for him.

"This song is ending," he heard Sigma in his mind, "But the story never ends."

He tossed his coat on a Y-beam and pulled himself up the ramp till he dropped to his knees beside her, his hands beginning to glow as well.

"I don't want to go," he whispered to her, scared, but bearing it.

She looked at him, shaking, "Our next great adventure," she held out a hand to him, "Together."

He took her hand and they pulled themselves to their feet.

A moment later…

They threw their heads back, their arms out, still holding each other's hand as the regeneration energy poured out of them. It was too much for the poor TARDIS, two regenerating Time Lords, fires sprung up on the console, beams collapsed aground them.

They screamed as the energy tore through them, changing them, before gasping. The Professor stumbled, falling down onto the captain's chair as the Doctor looked down at himself.

"Legs!" he cheered, "I've still got legs, good," he kissed his knees and continued his inventory, "Arms. Hands. Ooh, fingers, lots of fingers. Ears, yes. Eyes, two. Nose, I've had worse. Chin, blimey. Hair..." he ran a hand though his longer hair, "I'm a girl!" and quickly felt his Adams's Apple, "No! No...I'm not a girl."

"I would hope not," the Professor laughed, jumping up and over to him. She kissed him quickly and pulled away, grinning, "And neither of us are really ginger."

He pulled his brown hair down in front of his eyes, frowning, before looking at her, taking her in as she was him. She was shorter than him by five inches, her hair darkened slightly to a strawberry blonde, not quite ginger, but not quite blond, a perfect blend of her last incarnation and Donna if he had to guess. It was wavy and just a few inches longer than it had been. Her eyes were hazel now, a beautiful swirl of brown and green with little flecks of a lighter green here and there, with cheekbones that were just slightly more pronounced when she smiled like she was now. Overall, she was beautiful, like she always was to him.

He frowned suddenly, "There's something else, something important, we're…" there was a small explosion behind them, "Ha! Crashing!"

They ran back to the console, practically dancing around it as they piloted, she smiled at him, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

He grinned as she pulled a lever, sending them off, before grabbing the console as he shouted, "Geronimo!"

To be continued…in…Revitalization!

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news for all Keta fans. My withdrawl has actually led to goodies for you! I'm so starved for Keta that all I can think about is adding in lines and cute scenes between the Doctor and Professor! The next story will be packed full of Keta fluff, banter, flirting, possessiveness, protectiveness, and more! I like to think that, since they are regenerating together and starting new lives together that Keta is going to be more in sync than ever! I can't wait!


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